


The Many Arts in War

by AlexOblivion



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Destroy Ending, Developing Relationship, Eventual FemShep/Garrus, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Family, FemShep/Liara broken up, FemShep/Liara family, Friendship, Life after the Reapers, OCs - Shepard's kids, Ocs Garrus's kids, Post-Reapers, Romance, Shepard lives, Slow Build, krogan war, normandy crew - Freeform, other OC's - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-03-13 22:09:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 59,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3398039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexOblivion/pseuds/AlexOblivion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane Shepard isn't good at relationships. That's probably why her marriage ended, though that could have been a lot worse. She isn't good at sitting on the sidelines either, which is probably why she finds herself in the middle of the rising conflict between the rapidly expanding krogan population and, well, everyone else. And she definitely isn't good at forgiveness, which is absolutely why when a certain blue-eyed turian who has avoided her for the last twenty years drops back into her life she doesn't exactly take it well. On the plus side, though, Jane Shepard is very good at fighting, and it looks like there's a lot of that coming her way. </p><p>Eventual Shepard/Garrus relationship, slow build, eventual smut. This is a character-driven fic with lots of Shakarian banter and a few OC's thrown in. Based on a previous Liara/Shepard relationship that ended on good terms, but no Liara/Shepard smut (sorry). Shakarian all the way! Updates regularly!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Art of Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever multi-chapter fic! Woooooo that's nerve wracking. I'm going to try to post regularly but I am in the middle of university and let's be honest, that shit gets crazy. I'd love to hear what people think of this, but no flames please! They're discouraging and the world of writing fanfic is stil terrifying to me. 
> 
> Thanks! Hope you enjoy the Shakarian goodness!

If Shepard's left leg didn't move so damn slow now she'd be bouncing on her heels, giving zero shits about how undignified that made her look. But no, she was reduced to standing patiently, most of her weight leaned onto her right leg while her well-meaning but remarkably annoying assistant chattered at her about the day's crisis. Arkik was a good kid - she had to keep reminding herself that to the salarians he was not a kid - but damn he could talk. Arkik had been with her for four years now, and they had developed a system. She tuned in and out on what he was saying, and he kept chatting without getting offended that she wasn't listening. It worked most of the time but today Shepard was excited and he was grating on her. 

"Arkik!" She finally said, perhaps a bit too forcefully, "how about a moment of silence?" 

The salarian huffed. "Fine but I was trying to tell you that I see Hannah!" 

Shepard definitely tuned in to that. She looked around, using her assistant's shoulder to lever herself up another few inches. The docks were usually crowded on the weekends and today was no exception. Everywhere she looked there were people of all races, sizes, and colors. It was frustrating just now because they were obstructing her view of her daughter, but most of the time it was a reminder to Shepard of all she had helped accomplish. Finally, just as she was about to turn and berate Arkik, she spotted Hannah's trademark brightly dyed hair weaving through the crowd. It was green today, and slicked back. Hannah spotted them about the same time and changed course, ploughing through the crowd until she reached her mother. She dropped her bags and threw her arms around Shepard, as ebullient as ever. Shepard returned the hug just as joyously. After a moment Hannah released her and gave Arkik a quick squeeze too, much to his dismay. 

"Mumsy!" She exclaimed, stepping back and eyeing Jane from head to toe, "you look like you haven't been eating enough. Arkik, have you been feeding her?" She asked. The salarian blustered out an answer that neither Shepard was listening to. Jane waved her daughter's concerns away. 

"You look like you haven't been eating enough either, daughter of mine," she said. Hannah just laughed. Then she looked around as if looking for someone. 

"Where's Ben?" She asked. "And mom?" 

"Ben's catching the next shuttle from Tuchanka and your mother won't be here until late. She had something to deal with on Ilos. Prothean relic gone bad, I think," Shepard said. 

"Oh, alright," Hannah said, looking disappointed, but then she realized what Shepard had said and her face lit up. "Hey, that sounded like you'd talked to mom! Are you guys getting along again?" She asked. 

"We were never not getting along, Hannah," Jane complained, letting her daughter and Arkik steer her towards a cafe at the back of the docks to wait. "We just don't see as much of each other now that you girls are grown up." 

"Uh-huh. That's what she says too," Hannah muttered. They ordered drinks at the cafe and took them out onto the little terrace to sit down. As soon as they sat Arkik pulled out a datapad and set to work, typing furiously with his three long fingers. Shepard left him to it, knowing he would inform her of any issues as they came up. She was more interested in listening to the deluge of information Hannah was unleashing on her. 

“Say mumsy, did you hear about the new gallery opening on Illium? They’re going to feature three of my paintings! Maybe you could come to the opening? It’s a beautiful gallery, all lit up by the sun in the morning and really dim at night, you’d like it,” Hannah was on a tangent now and all Shepard had to do was sit back, listen, and make appropriate noises every once in a while. She took the opportunity to observe Hannah and make sure her daughter was doing alright. 

Hannah had grown up taking care of her younger sister, and she had always put Ben’s needs before her own, sometimes to her own detriment. Hannah had a soft heart, quick temper, and mean right hook. She could be selfish, as all young people could, but more often than not Hannah was too giving. She was also a damn good artist, and Shepard was intensely proud of her. They had named her after Jane’s mother, who had died on Mindoir during a raid, and Hannah looked quite like her namesake: tall, slim, and fiesty. She liked to cut and dye her hair, so much so that Jane wasn’t quite sure what color it was supposed to be anymore. She also liked to add bits and bobs to her skin, things like the new bio-tattoos that changed with her mood and piercings with tiny holo-screens. Today she had two little hoops through her right eyebrow and a ring through her septum. Jane didn’t exactly approve of the mods but she knew they were part of Hannah’s culture. Hannah looked happy and healthy though, and she was excited about her work. That was all Shepard wanted. 

Hannah, Jane, and occasionally Arkik chatted for the next hour, catching up on their lives until Arkik’s datapad pinged to let them know that Ben’s shuttle had arrived. 

The T’soni-Shepard clan wandered back out to the docks and waited for the third member of their family to make her way to them. 

Benezia T’soni-Shepard was never hard to spot in a crowd, and this time was no exception. Shepard’s asari daughter was tall, taller than most asari and almost all humans. She was well over six feet and neither Shepard or Liara could figure out where the height came from. Benezia walked like her namesake, moving along as if she were floating. She looked like Liara, but with a healthy dose of Shepard tossed in: Shepard’s pinched frown, bright green eyes, and freckles were all there. She was much more serious than her sister, but even she was beaming when she saw Jane and Hannah. Benezia hugged both of them for a moment, then saluted Shepard. 

“Relieved, Captain,” Shepard said. Technically, Benezia was one of her subordinates, but they tried not to talk about work at home. Ben’s heavily armored shoulders sagged a little and she sighed. 

“That was a long mission, mumsy. It’s good to see you both,” she said. “Can we get something to eat?” 

*

Jane took the girls to a small restaurant on the Presidium near her apartment. They ordered and Shepard ordered an extra portion for Liara so she wouldn’t have to wait when she got there. Arkik debriefed Ben immediately after they sat down, and her tale of her mission on Tuchanka was such that even Hannah was interested in it. The girls and Shepard were still talking about it an hour later when the turian waitress led Liara to their table. 

The girls saw Liara before Jane did, and Hannah’s squeals let her know her former spouse had arrived. Hannah leapt up and launched herself at her mother, hugging her and flooding her with questions. Liara answered her as evenly as she could before gently easing her daughter off and reaching for Ben. Ben was a bit more reserved, but excited nonetheless. After she released Ben Liara looked the question at Shepard and when Shepard reached for her as well her face lit up. They hugged quickly and it was a powerful reminder for Shepard of everything she had loved about Liara - her smell, the feel of her skin, the way she was just tall enough to hook her chin over Jane’s shoulder. She let her go though, like she always did. Liara reached over and patted one of Arkik’s horns, to which he blushed profusely, and the five of them sat back down. 

“How was your flight?” Shepard asked Liara. The Shadow Broker was busier than even Jane was, and sometimes her non-stop travel wore on her. Liara looked tired but no more than usual, so Shepard resolved to keep an eye on her but not push it too far just now. 

“Good. Long. I’m glad to be back,” the asari said. 

“We ordered you dinner,” Hannah announced and pushed the plate over to her mother. 

“Oh thank you. I’m starving,” Liara said, “you would not believe the Prothean relic the science team found on Ilos.” And Shepard again got to sit back and watch her family. 

Now that the girls were grown with Hannah just about twenty two and Ben at twenty, Liara and Jane didn’t see them as much. Not nearly as much as Jane would like, anyways. She always treasured their meet-ups at the Citadel because it gave her a chance to pretend they were just a normal family again for a little while, right up until another crisis hit and she had to deploy Benezia or Hannah took off for one of her installations somewhere or Liara had to deal with something pressing in her world of secrets. For a moment, though, they were together again and Shepard could just enjoy it. She loved watching Liara with the girls, always had. Hadn’t told her as much as she should have, maybe. It had probably contributed to their split over a decade ago. But they were in a good place now, and their bi-annual gatherings at the Citadel were almost always enjoyable, so Shepard leaned back in and joined the conversation, determined to enjoy her time with her family.

Shepard, Liara, their daughters, and the constantly-working Arkik stayed at the restaurant for almost two more hours, catching up on each others’ lives. 

“... anyways, we broke things off about a month after I got to Tuchanka,” Ben was saying, filling her mother and sister in on her last relationship. It had been with a turian, a co-worker. Shepard had liked the fellow but wasn’t entirely shocked when Ben broke up with him. He had been a bit clingy for the commando. 

“And what about you, Jane? Seeing anyone?” Liara asked. Shepard had a moment of conflict. On the one hand she was glad Liara felt like they could talk about these things now and on the other she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about these things now. Luckily, it was an easy answer. 

“Nope, no one for me. I’m too busy with the GP,” Shepard said. 

“And how is your Galactic Peacekeeping force?” Liara asked. It was a courtesy, they both knew. Liara kept tabs on everything in the galaxy, and the new galactic police force was a constant source of news. Liara was hands down the best asset Shepard had when it came to her peacekeepers. She kept them apprised of everything from new threats to public perception of their work. 

“Oh you know, keeping peace,” Shepard said. She didn’t really want to discuss work, especially since that always lead to discussion of politics - the galaxy after the Reapers had been a mess and the GP was just one facet of the concerted efforts to clean it up, which involved a lot of politics - and she did not want to discuss politics at dinner. 

“Speaking of which, I have some news for you about the krogan,” Liara said, “Remind me to tell you after dinner.” 

Shepard smiled her appreciation over the table. She was about to steer the conversation back away from love lives and work when Arkik cleared his throat. 

“Commander,” he said, his tone one Shepard was too familiar with. Something was happening. Something big. 

“What is it?” She asked. The others had stilled. Liara’s omni-tool was beeping at her. Probably the same thing. She opened it up and gasped. 

“Someone?” Shepard asked. 

“Primarch Victus is dead,” Arkik said. Shepard’s eyebrows flew up and the girls gasped. Victus was young, healthy, and well-liked. 

“How did he die?” Ben asked, her thoughts parallelling Shepard’s. 

“He was killed in a raid,” Liara said. Her fingers were flying over her omni-tool. “By krogans.” 

“The Hierarchy is putting its fleet on alert. They’ve put out a bulletin. They’re going to announce the new Primarch in the next few minutes,” Arkik said. He was going staccato, speaking in short bursts. She could see him collating data on his datapad and pushing it to her omni-tool. She opened her tool and motioned for Ben to do the same. Hannah just watched, knowing better than to get involved. This was the rest of the Shepard family’s game, not hers. 

The family was quiet for a few minutes, gathering as much information as they could. When all of their omni-tools started beeping again, Shepard knew what it was.

“They’ve announced the new Primarch,” Liara said. “Sparatus is stepping up.” He was the current turian Councillor. 

“Who’s coming to the Council?” Shepard asked. This was the position that would have the most bearing on her work. The Galactic Peacekeeping force was only twenty four years old and many still didn’t trust it. The Council had the most effect on their work and so far, it had been because of the turian and salarian support that they had been as successful as they had. If they lost the turian support Shepard’s dream of a fully integrated galactic force would be severely set back. 

Liara’s gasp was not a good sign though. She looked up at Shepard, blinking fast. Shepard looked down and scrolled through her data feeds. Her stomach dropped. 

“It’s Garrus,” she whispered. “Garrus is the new Councillor.” Well, there went the neighborhood.


	2. The Art of Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shepard walks angrily, Liara tries to be diplomatic, and Garrus is nervous.

“Did you know he was that far up the Hierarchy?” Shepard demanded, her long, uneven steps eating up the Presidium concourse. Liara strode along beside her, the girls trailing slightly behind. Arkik was hurrying to her other side, muttering into his communicator. Warning the Galactic Peacekeeping Force’s admin that she was on her way, no doubt. 

“Yes of course,” Liara said. She glared right back at the frown Shepard pointed at her. “Don’t look at me like that, you told me you weren't interested in what he was doing anymore.” 

“Of course I am! He was my best friend, damn it!” Shepard veered sharply left towards the elevator. 

“Why did you two stop talking?” Hannah asked. Liara threw a withering look over her shoulder and Hannah dropped back in apparent surrender. 

“We didn’t stop talking,” Jane said in response, “Garrus did. I don’t know why. I tried to reach out to him for over three years after the Reaper wars, and he never answered me. Now he’s the fucking Councillor, and I swear to god Liara if he gets in my way-”

“You’ll what, Jane? Shoot him?” Liara interrupted. Her voice was full of weary sarcasm. She had been just as close to Garrus as the rest of the crew, and just as hurt when he dropped out of contact with her. He had stayed in touch with everyone else, just not she and Shepard. Liara had her own theories about that, but Jane had never been willing to hear them. 

“Maybe!” Jane shouted. “We’ll see how it goes!” 

People were staring now. Jane ignored everyone around them and punched the elevator button again. Millions of years of technology and the goddamn elevators on the Presidium were still slower than an old elcor. The doors finally slid open and the T’soni-Shepard clan piled in. They were quiet for a moment and then Shepard said quietly, “He could destroy everything I've built, Liara.” 

Liara’s face softened. She had been there with Shepard for over a decade after the Reaper wars, building up the galaxy and Shepard’s GP with it. The Galactic Peacekeepers were one of the best things to come out of the war and Shepard was their driving force. She had created a force comprised of people from all the spacefaring races in their galaxy, from turians and humans to vorcha and elcor. They even had a few radical hanar. The GP was Shepard’s pride and joy and she truly believed that if the police force could be that integrated the rest of the galaxy could too. As a Councillor Garrus would have the clout to stymie a lot of Shepard’s plans or outright deny her requests and access. Liara didn’t think he would, but then again, she hadn’t thought he would cut them off for twenty years either. 

“Garrus is reasonable,” she said though, despite her own fears, “he knows how important the GP is. Especially now with the krogans…” 

Shepard nodded. The rumors of the krogan fleets arming had been spreading for months now. Since the genophage had been cured the krogan population had boomed and the Council couldn’t find habitable worlds fast enough for them. They had been in talks with the krogan leadership to institute species-wide reforms on child-birthing policies, but this soon after the genophage it was unlikely the krogans would comply. All of their information was pointing to eventual bloodshed, and now Primarch Victus had been killed by krogans. It wasn’t good. 

“I just don’t understand,” Shepard said. Liara nodded. Shepard could see that she knew Shepard was talking about Garrus’s refusal to talk to them. 

“Well perhaps this is your chance to ask him,” she said, “but Jane… be prepared that his answer might not be satisfactory.” 

Shepard considered this. She wasn’t sure what Garrus could say that could satisfactorily explain twenty years of silence, so Liara was probably right. She needed to be prepared. The elevator dinged open and they poured out into the lobby of the GP’s headquarters. 

Shepard’s offices were quite nice, even by Presidium standards. They were on an upper floor along the gardens near the embassies, and every office had a balcony that overlooked the stream. Shepard had had plants, paintings, and comfortable chairs brought in so the space looked more like a lounge than the coordinating center for a galactic peacekeeping force of tens of thousands. 

Shepard walked over to the wall nearest the door to her office and hit a holo-panel there. a crackle throughout the offices let everyone working know that the intercom was on. 

“Attention GPHQ, Primarch Victus has been killed in a krogan raid. The turian hierarchy announced the situation an hour ago, as I’m sure most of you are aware. We are in code Orange until the Council convenes tomorrow morning. In the meantime, the hierarchy has announced that Councillor Sparatus will be stepping up as Primarch and Garrus Vakarian will become Councillor. Analysis core, keep your ears on the situation. I want to know if anything in this goddamn galaxy moves before it happens, got it? Recon, be ready to move out. We might be deploying into krogan space before long. That’s all folks,” Shepard announced. A buzz shot through the office. Everyone at HQ was aware of the ramifications of this situation. 

Jane headed back towards the door, her steps never slowing. Liara knew that walk, that was the walk of a Shepard on a mission. Both the girls had it too. 

“Arkik, stay here,” Shepard ordered. Her assistant nodded, eyes intent on his omni-tool. “I want a meeting with the Council the second they walk in tomorrow, got it?” Arkik nodded again. “Before that would be even better. And keep eyes on Sparatus. We need to know if he’s going to continue to support our position.” Nod. “And get me a meeting with Vakarian. Right fucking now,” she said. Another nod was the only response. 

Shepard herded Ben, Liara, and Hannah into the elevator. As soon as the doors were closed her shoulders sagged and she leaned against the wall. 

“What now, mumsy?” Ben asked. “Do you want me to put the squad on alert?” Benezia commanded one of the GP’s top reconnaissance squad. 

“No, you’re on shore leave for a week. You need it. Tuchanka was no picnic,” Jane said. Ben smiled a tight smile that Shepard was used to seeing on Liara’s lips. 

“Thanks. I’m tired,” she said. Jane patted her shoulder. “I know. Let’s go home.” 

*

To Shepard, the apartment would always be Anderson’s apartment. Even though her old friend had been dead for twenty odd years now, she still considered this his home. She had raised her children here and she and Liara had been happy together here for a while, but in the end it was still Anderson’s apartment. 

The girls each had a bedroom here, and when Liara came to the Citadel she stayed in the spare room. Shepard had eventually purchased the apartment beside hers as well and expanded into it, so that the house now had two suites that could be separated if necessary. She had given Liara the other suite twelve years ago, when they had divorced. They had never had any intention of splitting up the girls or raising them as anything less than a family, and so the larger space had worked out. 

Tonight though the T’soni-Shepard family sat in the living room of Anderson’s apartment watching the news of the raid. They had been watching the footage in silence for almost an hour when Liara reached over Shepard, grabbed the remote, and changed the channel to one of the zillion Blasto movies constantly playing. 

“I think that’s enough of that,” she said when Ben and Shepard glared at her. Hannah grinned and stood up. 

“I’ll make popcorn.” And even Shepard and Benezia had to let it go. Forty-five minutes into the mind-numbing action flick, Ben was snoring on the couch, her legs across Hannah’s lap and her head tilted back over the armrest. Shepard and Liara were on the big couch with the bowl of popcorn between them and a couple drinks on the coffee table. They had taken to commenting on Blasto’s technique, critiquing his weapons handling and accuracy mostly. Every once in a while at something particularly garish one or the other would throw popcorn at the screen and Hannah would giggle at them. 

Shepard was smiling though, and that was what Liara had wanted. Shepard got too caught up in her work, too focused on making the galaxy a better place. It was a noble goal, sure, but sometimes she let it get to her head and she couldn’t see past it. Liara knew their time with their girls was always limited and she wanted to make the most of it, which she couldn’t do if Shepard started playing the videos of the raid on Primarch Victus’s ship on repeat. Three of the four T’soni-Shepard women would be back on duty in the morning anyways, and this attack would take priority then. For tonight though, they could veg out to a silly Blasto movie. 

At least, she had hoped they could. When Shepard’s doorbell rang and the video link attached to the door flickered on to show one very uncomfortable looking turian standing at her door, Liara knew their peaceful evening was at an end. 

“Hannah, take your sister to bed please,” Liara ordered. Hannah looked ready to protest but her words died at the look on Jane’s face. If expressions could kill, Jane would have slain an army. She was glowering at the door like she hoped that enough sour energy could make her visitor go away. Hannah wordlessly moved Ben’s legs off her lap and stood up. She woke Ben up by poking her in the neck - trust a sister to know her sibling’s weakness - then pulled Ben’s arm over her shoulder and half-walked half-dragged her to the stairs. 

“Don’t let her break anything,” Hannah muttered to Liara as she passed. Liara couldn’t help but smile. After the girls had gone upstairs she turned to Shepard. 

“Well? Are you going to let him in or not?” She asked. 

“Still deciding,” Jane said. 

“No you’re not,” Liara replied, “you’re just procrastinating.” She pressed a button on her omni-tool. 

The door slid open and there in the doorway was Garrus Vakarian. He looked just the same as she remembered him, if a little bit older. Turians typically lived well into their second century, so Garrus was by no means past his prime. In fact, if Shepard were being honest with herself - which she tried to avoid whenever possible - she would have to admit that he looked good. His scars were faded and he had had his facepaint redone over them, making them far less noticeable. His sniping visor was noticeably absent and she tried to remember if she had ever seen him without it. She didn’t think so. His eyes were more blue without the distraction of the visor, she thought, and he looked good in civvies. Still carried a pistol though, like she did when she was out and about. Couldn’t be too careful. 

Shepard registered all of this within the first couple seconds of Garrus standing at her door. She stood up, leaning heavily on the back of her couch. Garrus took a couple tentative steps until he was inside the apartment and Shepard was reminded of the last time he was here when they had had the party before the final battle. That had been a good night. What had happened, she wondered? She had always thought she and Garrus would at least stay in touch. Stay friends. As much as she hated to admit it, seeing him here after twenty odd years still hurt. 

She choked it back though, like a good soldier. “Garrus. Good to see you,” she said, and was surprised by how true it was. She had missed him. Then the anger boiled up until she wanted to beat some answers out of him and she had to swallow that back down too. 

“You… uh, you too, Shepard,” he said, “Liara. You’re here.” Huh. Shepard hadn’t anticipated that he would be as nervous as she was, but she supposed it made sense. 

“I came to the Citadel to visit Jane and our daughters,” Liara said. “I take it you got in this evening?” 

“Yeah. Just got off a shuttle, actually. My VI said your office was pinging me, Shepard, so I came over,” he said. 

Just like that. He had come here first. Well what was she to make of that? But apparently he wasn’t finished. 

“I assume you want to talk about me taking over for Sparatus,” he said, “becoming a Councillor. Who would have thought?” 

Liara carried the conversation again, much to Shepard’s relief. “I would have. You’ve been doing big things around Palaven, Garrus,” she said. 

He started to smile his thanks at her when Shepard shut them down as only she could. “Too bad one of those big things wasn’t getting in touch with us,” she said, and it felt like an ice bomb had gone off in the middle of the room.


	3. The Art of the Passive Aggressive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shepard prods Garrus's carapace, Garrus cracks a badly timed joke, and Liara lets it happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3! If you'd have told me a few weeks ago that I'd be writing an ongoing fanfiction... well. I'm pretty stoked. Thanks everyone for reading it, I hope you enjoy it!

"Too bad one of those big things wasn't getting in touch with us," Shepard said, and it felt like an ice bomb had gone off in the middle of the room. 

Garrus didn't know what he had been expecting when he received the ping from Shepard's office. Had he thought she would just want to reminisce? Talk business? Shoot the shit, as the humans said? Of course not. He had known she would get straight to the heart of the issue, like always. He had kept up with her work on the GP - he had had to in his role as turian military advisor - and she hadn't changed that much. So if he must have known this was coming, why was he so tongue tied? 

"Shepard..." Liara sighed it and Shepard shot her a look full of something Garrus couldn't quite read. Apology, maybe? 

"Sorry Liara but there's no sense dancing around it," she said. Apology. Maybe he hadn't completely forgotten how to read humans. 

"I suppose not. Would you like me to stay for this?" Liara asked. That was interesting. Garrus had heard that Shepard and Liara were on again off again but he hadn't quite believed it. Not after - 

"It's up to you," Shepard was saying. Then her bright green eyes, still as sharp as ever, turned on him and he stood a little straighter. Shepard had that effect on people. Even now, with the ripple of scars down her right cheek, her arm that always sat a bit crooked, and the slanted way she held her left leg, she could put the fear of a commanding officer into him with just a look.

"Well? What happened, Garrus? You took off after the war like there were demons on your tail and next thing we knew you were all settled down on Palaven with a wife and kids and no time for us," she said. There was no mistaking that face. He had hurt her and she was still hurting. Even after all this time. A glance over at Liara showed the same expression there. 

Garrus shifted on his feet. He was quickly realizing that this was not going to be the kind of situation an apology would fix. "Look, Shepard, I just... Got busy." It was the lamest excuse he could possibly have used, and judging by the way Shepard's face wrinkled - how many times had he seen that frown? Usually just before she shot someone - she wasn't accepting it. 

"You got busy?" Shepard asked, taking a step towards him. She had a long, limping stride now, quickly setting her left foot down and then just as quickly shifting to her right. It still pained her, clearly. "You know who got busy? Tali, rebuilding an entire world. She still writes and we have dinner any time we're nearby. You know who got busy? Jack, training four species worth of biotics. We have a standing poker game every month. You know who got busy? James and Ashley, the two human Spectres. They come over for dinner every time they're at the Citadel. You know who got busy? Wrex and Grunt, rebuilding Tuchanka and trying to stop the goddamn krogan war! We still vid chat every few weeks and we spent last Christmas with them on Tuchanka! You know how many kids Wrex has? Thousands. It's terrifying. I could go through the rest of our crew too but I think you get the drift. So that's your excuse, Vakarian? You were too busy for us? Sad tale, Garrus, it really is." She had been stepping forward at each example and now she was right in his face, her crooked right hand prodding him in the chest with every few words. Garrus looked over at Liara, hoping the asari would be a bit more sympathetic, but her face was impassive. For the first time he realized the damage he must have done to her too.

"Shepard I... I'm sorry," he said, stepping out of her reach. 

She waved in clear dismissal. "Whatever, Garrus." 

That made him angry. Did she really think she was innocent in all this? 

"Not whatever, Shepard. Do you really think I wanted-" he stopped. He couldn't bring himself to continue, to explain why he had left. Why he had ignored her messages and never called her back. Liara was watching him, her eyes tracking his movements like a predator. She was too smart for her own good sometimes, and right now she was definitely too smart for Garrus's good. "It doesn't matter. I'm here now Shepard and we're going to have to work together." 

She looked up at that. "Yes we are. Are you going to pick up my calls now?" 

He winced. He deserved that one. "Of course. Look I want you to know I support the Peacekeepers. Your work. I support what you're doing." Well that was awkward. 

"Good. Then maybe we can work together," Shepard said. There was a long pause. "That's all for now, Councillor," Shepard said finally. 

Garrus nodded, his head swirling with too many thoughts and emotions to argue. He turned and went for the door. He hit the panel and the door slid open. He looked back over his shoulder at his old friends, wishing there was something he could say to make it all better. There wasn't, of course, but he could hope. 

"Shepard, if you... Well if you want to talk you know where to find me. My door's always open," he said, "You too Liara." Liara nodded and he thought she might actually take him up on it. Shepard didn't respond. 

Garrus ducked his chin and walked out of Anderson's apartment. Just before the door slid closed, he put his hand in the way and said, "You're right Shepard. Wrex's kids are terrifying. The sheer number of them... You know he told me once he doesn't even know all their names?" He let his hand fall out of the door jamb and the hydraulics engaged, but not before he saw a tiny smile on Jane Shepard's face.


	4. The Art of Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Garrus and Shepard argue over nothing, Garrus offers lunch, and Shepard agrees.

"I'm sorry, Shepard, I can't authorize your recon teams moving into krogan space! Not without the support of the other Councillors!" Garrus repeated for the third time. And for the third time Jane pressed on. 

"I'm not asking you to authorize it, I'm asking if you'll advocate for it at your session today!" She shouted back. They were standing at opposite ends of Garrus's office, where they has been hurling arguments at each other for the past hour. Garrus’s new secretary Nessa had long since fled, as had most of the other occupants of his new office. Arkik was seated at a table behind Shepard, reading his ever-present datapad and occasionally tapping out messages on his omni-tool. He never bothered looking up. 

“Of course I’ll advocate it! I thought we already agreed on that!” Garrus bellowed. He and Shepard stopped up short at that. Shepard blinked at him, fighting off a smile. She was still mad at him, damn it, and the last two weeks hadn’t changed that. 

Garrus’s induction to the Council had been short, quiet, and fast. He had been inducted only a few days after the announcements rippled across Council space, and there hadn’t been time for a pompous ceremony. Shepard had showed up, as had Liara and James Vega, who happened to be at the Citadel on Spectre business, but most of their old friends hadn’t been able to make it, which was understandable given the short notice. James had left almost immediately afterwards and Shepard had been left feeling like there were a whole lot of people missing. 

So a day later when Garrus had showed up to her offices at the GPHQ, she had been in no mood to see him. Their resulting fight had been, according to her staff and Benezia, “legendary.” He had left fuming and she had taken a cab to the top of the Presidium ring to shoot things. They hadn’t spoken for a week after that, until Shepard could no longer ignore the number of reports coming in from her recon teams about the krogan armada amassing on the edge of Council space. She and Garrus had since seen each other nearly every day, and nearly every day they left angry. Today was the first time that they had started fighting and one or the other hadn’t just walked out. 

“Wait, are you saying you’ll advocate for us in the session?” She asked. 

Garrus nodded. “I thought we established that an hour ago,” he said. “Of course I will. It’s a good plan, and the Peacekeepers are the least likely to cause an galactic incident.” 

“Well.” She was a bit stumped. She supposed she should - “Thank you,” she said. They stood and stared at each other for a moment longer.

“So… what have we been fighting about, then?” Garrus asked. And Shepard’s mood immediately darkened. 

“I think we both know the answer to that.” They had yet to actually talk about anything other than work, and both of them knew the conversation needed to happen. 

But Arkik was clearing his throat and pointing at the clock on the wall and it didn’t look like that conversation was going to happen today. “I have to go though,” Shepard said. Garrus looked relieved. 

“Alright. I’ll let you know how the session goes,” he said. Shepard nodded and left his office, feeling for the first time like they were actually making progress. Now if only they could make progress on everything else. 

*

The next morning, Garrus reached Shepard’s office before she did. She found him sitting in her lobby, sipping something hot and chatting with Benezia. He stood up fast when he saw Shepard limping up the stairs, and she had the feeling he would have saluted if he weren’t holding the drink. He had been like that since they had started speaking again - more on edge than when she met him years ago. It made Shepard a little sad, but also gave her a bit of sadistic pleasure that he was nervous around her. Ben, on the other hand, just sat and blinked up at her. 

“Shepard,” Garrus said. She nodded at him and strode on past, intent on the GP’s activity board. 

The activity board was rightfully known as the anchor of the Peacekeepers. It was an enormous holo screen that took up most of the left wall of Shepard’s office, the wall without windows. It was constantly scrolling through each of her teams on deployment, giving her status updates on every member of the GP throughout the galaxy. Shepard usually spent the first hour of her morning reading through it, forever concerned that one of her agents was in trouble. 

This morning, though, it didn’t appear she would have that luxury. Ben and Garrus followed her into her office and stood staring at her, clearly waiting for something. 

"Ben first," Shepard said, "because I have the feeling yours will take longer." She nodded at Garrus. His mandibles flared in a bit of smile and he nodded. 

“My team’s shore leave is finished, Commander,” Ben said, all business again. “We’re ready to redeploy at your command.” 

Shepard waved at the activity board, scrolling orange and white across the wall. “There’s five empty assignments,” she said, “take your pick.” 

“Alright, if you forward the mission reports to my omni-tool I’ll read through them.” Ben saluted and left the office, probably heading down to the common rooms to gather her people. Ben wasn’t one for wasting time, and as soon as her team had decided on a mission they would leave. It was one of the reasons why they were Shepard’s top team. 

“Ok, now you,” Shepard said, gesturing at Garrus. She limped over to her desk and leaned against it, sighing slightly. Garrus suspected her leg hurt her more often than she let on. 

“I told you I would let you know how the session went,” Garrus said. “So here I am.” 

“And?” 

“Well, it went. The Council wasn’t in favor of letting your teams back into krogan space, but-” he held up a hand as Shepard started to protest “I convinced them. It helps that Wrex is an old friend.” 

Shepard grinned and Garrus couldn’t help but wonder how long it had been since he had seen that. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it. 

“Good,” she said, “I’ll get my teams on it right away.” 

“Shepard. There’s more.” Her smile disappeared. 

“These are peacekeeping missions only. Wrex sat in on the Council session and he said your forces are the only armed units he’ll allow in krogan space. If he gets any hint that you’re collecting information for the Citadel he’ll kick you out and we’ll lose any chance of stopping this war,” Garrus said. 

He had her attention, he saw, and she was beginning to frown in that truly inimitable way she had. The frown that said that she had a mission and if anything got in her way she would remove it, quickly and with maximum force. 

“Shepard, your Peacekeepers are the only semi-Council force that the krogans will deal with. We have to keep that edge,” he said. 

“I get you, Garrus,” she said. A wave of relief swept over him. He was new to this politician business and he wasn’t sure bringing him in on the verge of galactic war was the best learning experience, but it was what he had. If Shepard was on his side, he would feel a hell of a lot better. 

“Good, because Wrex and a couple other krogan Warlords want to set up a conference, and they want your Peacekeepers to moderate it,” he said. Shepard’s eyes narrowed but she didn’t immediately dismiss the idea, which he would take as a positive sign. 

“I’ll consider it,” she said warily. He was willing to let it go at that. It was more than he had expected, really. 

“Great. Maybe we can discuss it further over lunch?” The moment the words were out of his mouth Garrus wished he could take them back. He had barely gotten Shepard speaking to him and he was asking her for lunch? There was no way - 

“Sure. Swing by at noon?” She asked. She wasn’t looking at him; she was staring at her activity board. A new light had flickered onto it and Shepard tapped it, widening the data box so she could read it. It showed Benezia’s team assigned to a mission code-named “KD-09-AL”. Shepard chewed her lip in the same old gesture she always had when she was worried, and Garrus could see that her mind wasn’t on him. 

“See you then,” he said. She glanced over at him and smiled her quick, lopsided smile. Garrus’s stomach flipped. Maybe there was a chance after all.


	5. The Art of Reaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shepard goes down stairs, Garrus tries to be helpful, and Sparatus is holographic.

"Do you remember the derelict Reaper where we found Legion?" Garrus asked. Shepard nodded. Her cheeks hurt from smiling and she had been talking so much she had barely touched her food. She had forgotten just how charming Garrus could be when he turned it on. 

"What about it?" 

I doubled your headshot count that day," he said. 

Shepard snorted. "That's your big accomplishment? I was using a heavy pistol and a submachine gun! I topped your biotic kill count by 100 percent, if you're looking for irrelevant statistics," she shot back. 

Garrus chuckled and Shepard leaned back in her seat, satisfied with herself. 

Shepard had thought that going for lunch with Garrus would be excessively awkward. She was sure they would sit across from each other and stare into the middle distance with nothing to say. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Garrus had made her laugh, reminisced with her, and even managed a whole conversation about politics without aggravating her or himself. She was actually enjoying herself, which must have been why when Garrus's omnitool pinged she felt a little stab of disappointment. 

"Damn. I've got a meeting in a few minutes, Shepard. Sorry," he said. She waved him off. 

"Go." He stood up and plugged his credit chit into the slot on the table to pay. 

"This was nice," he said, and a wave of irrational anger swept over her. 

"This was business, Garrus," she said. She didn't want him having any illusions. 

"Doesn't mean it wasn't nice," Garrus said. He nodded at her and left. 

*

Anderson's apartment was empty now. Liara and Hannah had gone out to Illium, Liara to deal with some Shadow Broker issue and Hannah to prepare for her gallery opening. Ben's team had left the Citadel a few hours earlier for a recon in the krogan DMZ. Shepard always tried to avoid the apartment when it was empty; it was too damn depressing. But eventually, she always had to go home. 

So she did what she always did. She called a friend. She had a pretense, as usual; she hadn't heard from Liara since she left for Illium and while that wasn't unusual she was allowed to worry. 

Liara picked up the vid call after a moment or two of beeping. 

"Hi Jane. Did Ben leave?" Liara asked. There went Shepard's pretense. 

"Yeah," she sighed. 

"You know you really should consider getting a pet. Or a roommate. My place has been much nicer since Javik moved in," Liara said. 

Jane perked up. The crew, as they still affectionately called one another, even though they hadn't been on the same ship in decades, all gossiped about whether Javik and Liara we're together. The going bet was yes, since they lived together, but there was a strong counter argument. He was a Prothean and Liara was very busy. It was possible they simply lived together. 

"So you and Javik...?" Shepard hung the question out there, hoping Liara could clear the bet. 

"Are none of your business," she said. Jane laughed. 

"Find, fine. But I'm not getting a pet. Remember all the fish I killed on the Normandy?" 

"You were a genocidal fish owner, that's true." Liara paused and Shepard could see that she had something she wanted to talk about. Jane waited her out. 

"So you and Garrus went for lunch today," she said. Jane groaned. Of course she knew. She always knew. 

"Seriously? We can't talk about you and Javik but I go for one lunch and now we're having this conversation?" She asked, hoping for a distraction. 

"Yes, we are. Look Jane I spoke to Garrus before I left. We cleared the air. You should do the same," Liara said. That was a surprise. 

"You did? Did he explain why he didn't want to talk to us for a couple decades and then thinks he can waltz back in and everything'll be just peachy?" Shepard asked, not caring that she sounded bitter. She was bitter. 

"Yes, but you should ask him about it yourself," Liara said, "I think it would be good for you. He was your best friend, and I know you miss him." 

She did, and that was the worst part. At lunch today their banter had felt normal, like they hadn't missed a beat. But there was still so much to be explained. 

"Jane?" Liara was speaking and she hadn't been listening. 

"Jane promise me you'll talk to him?" She asked. 

Shepard sighed. Liara might be sweet and caring and everything else but she was also one of the most stubborn people Shepard knew. She wouldn't let this one go. 

"Fine. I'll try," she said, "now can we please talk about something else? How's Hannah's gallery opening going?" 

Liara sighed but dropped it for now. She'd rather talk about the girls anyways. "Good! She's very excited. She's invited everyone from the crew,so it should be a nice Normandy reunion..." 

They spoke for almost an hour, until Liara could see that Jane was tired and ready to go to bed. Before they signed off, Liara reminded her again to talk to Garrus, this time backing it with a threat to sick Wrex on her if she didn't. When Jane logged out of the vid call she opened a new message on her terminal. 

To: G.Vakarian  
From: Shepard-Commander   
Re: lunch tomorrow?   
Same place same time?   
-Jane 

She stared at her single sentence for a few minutes, trying to decide if it was too short, too vague, too inviting, too anything. She couldn't think of any improvements though so away it went across the extranet. To her great surprise, a response pinged back almost immediately. 

To: Shepard-Commander  
From: G.Vakarian  
Re: lunch tomorrow?  
Definitely.   
-G  
Ps: nice handle. 

Jane couldn't help the grin, or the niggling feeling of anticipation for lunch tomorrow. 

*

To: G.Vakarian  
From: Shepard-Commander   
Re: lunch today   
Hey, I have to cancel. Emergency. Rain check?  
-Jane

To: Shepard-Commander  
From: G.Vakarian   
Re: lunch today.   
I heard. I'm on my way.   
-G.   
Ps: what's a rain check? It doesn't rain here. 

"No, not good! Arkik!" Shepard was up and hobbling for the door to her office before she had even finished reading Garrus's message. Her salarian assistant was faster though. 

"Yes?" His horned head appeared around the door. 

"Why does the council already know about our DMZ problem? And why does Vakarian think he's needed on it?" 

Arkik paled, if paling was the right term for the way his neck flushed green and his horns quivered. "On it!" His head retracted. Shepard kept coming. 

"Get the data miners on a trace," she ordered, though Arkik was already typing away, "find out who leaked. If it's someone in our organization, this shit will go south fast." The DMZ mission wasn't completely toast yet, but if they had a leak, it soon would be. Ben was on that mission. 

"Find out where Vakarian is getting his intel," Shepard added. "There's no way his hacks are better than ours." 

"They are." His was the last voice Jane wanted to hear. She turned on him immediately, not bothering with pleasantries. 

"How did your people find out about the DMZ mission? Does the rest of the council know? Who else?" Shepard was limping across the lobby as she spoke, intent on getting in Garrus's face. To her great upset, he sidestepped her neatly and grabbed her hands when she turned back around. 

"No one else knows. Not the council, not the krogans, nobody. The captain of the frigate that dropped your team is an old friend of mine and when your mission went sideways he called. The hierarchy pulled him out and he wants me to use my position to get him back in. Your team must have made an impression," Garrus explained. Shepard's eyes never blinked, never looked away. It was the look of a scared parent. 

"You're sure?" She asked, voice barely over a whisper. Garrus's eyes softened and she knew he knew. She didn't care, not as long as it meant Ben's team still had a chance. 

"I'm sure." She sighed. 

"Commander, R21's operator is in ready room three," Arkik called from his desk. 

"Thank you. Any other fires?" She asked. She tried her level best not to seem like she prioritized Ben's team, and truthfully she would be worried for all of her people. This was not the first emergency the GP had had and it certainly wouldn't be the last. 

"Small issue with Ground 13, but nothing the operator can't handle," he said. 

"Good. If anything comes up-" 

"You'll be in ready room three." As usual, he didn't look up. 

Shepard set off towards the stairs. GPHQ was a big building, four levels total. There were over two hundred people employed there, most of them data analysts, negotiators, and operators. On the second level the operators had a suite of ready rooms that they could use when a situation required privacy and more space than their desk in the bullpen offered. 

“Garrus, can you get the turian frigate back online?” She asked, continuing down the stairs. Garrus had been standing in the middle of the lobby looking a little lost and now he hurried after her. He caught up to her at the stairs, where she was taking her time. Shepard hated stairs. They were hard on her left knee and her uneven gait made them much more difficult than they should have been. She hated them most of all because she could remember how easy they used to be and it was a constant reminder of how much… less… she was now. She was always tempted to use her biotics and float down but her physical therapist always seemed to know when she did that. 

To his great credit, Garrus didn’t rush past her or try to help her. He just slowed down and kept up. Every so often his left hand - the hand closest to Jane - twitched like he wanted to offer to help her but he didn't. She probably would have shot him if he did. Eventually they made it to the second level and Jane picked up speed across the bullpen. The operator assigned to R21 was waiting at the door to the ready room. She was a very young turian, enlisted for her five years of mandatory service. 

Years back when Shepard had been getting the GP off the ground she had found an unlikely ally in the turian Councilor, Sparatus, who had wholeheartedly supported her idea. He had arranged it with the turian Hierarchy so that when turians came of age they could choose to serve in the Peacekeepers or the turian military for their mandatory service. Not everyone had been happy about it, but it had done wonders in legitimizing the Peacekeepers, at least in the eyes of the turians. Arrangements had followed with the asari and salarians soon after and suddenly the GP were a whole lot more diverse. Then Wrex had started shipping her young krogans who wanted to satiate their need to fight, and she added them to her roster. Now the GP could boast members from almost every race in Council space, including elcor, volus, drell and vorcha. It was an immense point of pride for Shepard. 

The turian operator waiting for them was only seventeen, two years into her mandatory service, and Shepard was already keeping an eye on her for recruitment after her contract was up. She was smart, fast, and had a head for tactics, which was exactly what an operator needed. 

"Velina, what's the situation?" Shepard barked when she was close enough to hear Vel's anxious sub harmony. Vel looked over Shepard’s shoulder at Garrus and her eyes widened. She knew who he was, of course, she had grown up on Palaven in the post-Reaper years. Everyone knew who he was. She was also good at her job, and so the next words out of her mouth did not surprise Shepard. 

“I’m sorry sir, I’ll need to see some clearance first,” she said. Garrus’s brow plates rose slightly but his mandibles fluttered and she suspected he was hiding a smile. 

“He’s clear Vel,” Jane said, and the operator let Garrus into the ready room. 

“Alright, here we go.” She pulled up a data screen on the wall so they could see it. “Four hours ago we got a call from R21, Benezia’s recon team. Her team was sent into the krogan DMZ with permission from Urdnot Wrex to pursue a lead on a batarian slave ring we’ve been chasing since last summer. The turian frigate Lost Bostra dropped R21 at 0200 galactic standard time and contact was made with the slavers at 0500. R21 reported via comm buoy transmission that the slavers were coordinating with remnants of the krogan Blood Pack. The targets opened fire at 0530. R21 has been in a near-constant firefight since then. The last comm transmission came through at 10:00 and the team was running low on energy packs, medigel, and ammo.” 

Shepard was in action mode. She barely noticed Garrus tapping on his omnitool to her right. “Any friendlies in the area?” She asked. 

Velina nodded. “I contacted the krogan Core and clan Urdnot is sending a team. Their ETA is two hours.” 

“Two hours? 21 can’t last that long,” Shepard murmured. If they were running low on energy bars it was because their biotic members, Ben included, had been using their biotics to try to conserve ammo. If they were running low on medigel it was because some of the group were hurt. And if they were almost out of ammo… well it meant either everyone had forgotten how to shoot or they were sorely outnumbered. Shepard was going with the latter. 

“No they can’t. We’re working on channels with the turians to get the frigate back in to bombard the site, but the krogans aren’t too keen on that,” Vel said, “some of them would take a turian bombardment, even a limited one, as an act of war.”

“Get the frigate back in range and send its shuttle?” Shepard suggested. 

Velina shook her head though. “The mercs have anti-air. The frigate picked it up on sensors before they exited orbit.” 

“Shit. Okay, let me get on the horn with the turians. I might have some pull there. Talk to Wrex again. Ask him why he’s letting his niece sit in a firefight for another two hours while he lumbers his slow ass on over,” Ben said. Velina looked like she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She was good in a crisis, even though she was young, but she was very attached to her team and if anything happened to them she would feel personally responsible. Shepard couldn’t have that. 

Beside her Garrus was holding out his omnitool. “Sparatus is online, Shepard,” he said. She flashed him a quick smile of thanks. He pushed the call onto the wall screen and Sparatus appeared in full. 

“Jane!” He said, cheerful as usual. If someone had told Shepard twenty five years ago in the midst of the Reaper War that one day she and the turian would be good friends, she would have laughed them off the Normandy. But then he had supported her far-flung idea of a galactic peacekeeping force and she had seen another side of him. He had been her staunchest ally ever since, and now that he was the acting Primarch - he hadn't been sworn in yet - she missed him. 

“Sparatus! You look well,” she said. He did. The Primarch’s formal robes suited him, and he looked more energized than she had seen him in years. 

“For a broken old turian,” he joked. “You look good too.” 

“For a beat-up old human,” she replied. They chuckled at their favorite joke. Shepard felt more than saw Garrus shift beside her and she wondered what he was thinking.

“So, what is it?” Sparatus asked. 

Jane pretended to be offended for a moment. “How did you know?” She asked. 

“You’ve got that look in your eyes,” he said, “what is it and how can I help?” Jane nearly sagged in relief. 

“Ben’s in trouble,” she said. His eyes narrowed and she knew she had his full attention. 

“What do you need me to do?” He asked. Jane settled into her chair. This was going to be a long afternoon.


	6. The Art of Oversight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Wrex is loud, Shepard has an old friend, and Garrus meets an angry volus.

Shepard and the turian Primarch were joking with each other. Shepard and the turian Primarch had inside jokes, Garrus thought. He was absurdly jealous. He watched Shepard’s shoulders loosen when Sparatus offered up his help and couldn’t help but compare that to her reaction to Garrus’s arrival at her office. The differences were striking. If someone had told him back in his Normandy days that the former Councilor and Commander Shepard would one day be friends he would have accused them of taking too much red sand. But here and now, watching Sparatus and Shepard work together like they were so used to doing so they barely needed to think about it, he could see just how much time they had spent together. And he was jealous. Apparently he and Shepard had a long way to go, if she ever gave him that chance. 

Well, if Sparatus could go from being a growled curse on Shepard’s breath to a trusted friend, so could he. Garrus punched in the code for Wrex on his vid comm yet again. He had been trying to reach the krogan for a while now to no avail. 

This time though there was a click on the other end and then Wrex’s scarred old face appeared. 

“Turian!” He bellowed. Garrus grimaced. He wasn’t sure why Wrex always needed to shout at things. 

“Wrex,” he said. Wrex was peering at the vid screen with narrowed eyes. 

“That’s Shepard behind you,” he accused. “Are you two talking again?” 

“Yes,” Garrus sighed. He really didn’t want to have this conversation now. 

Wrex laughed. "Knew you'd come around, you stubborn pyjak! Of course I thought it would have happened a couple decades ago but you never were the sharpest varren in the pit were you?" 

"Not the sharpest - look Wrex I don't have time for this. How far out is your team from the recon group's location?" He asked. 

"Still over an hour," Wrex said. His wide lips were pursed and it was only because Garrus knew him well that he could tell the krogan was upset. 

"That's too long. The turian frigate that dropped the team is still in orbit and with your permission they can run an evac." 

Wrex's eyes narrowed. "Will an evac involve bombardment?" He asked. 

"Minor. The mercs have anti-air batteries." 

"That won't go over well. My people haven't forgotten the last time turians bombarded them," Wrex said. 

Garrus was losing patience. This was his problem with politics, you always had to dither around until someone got hurt. Well, whatever his ulterior motives were in this case, and they were hefty, he knew that, he didn't want to see innocent people hurt. 

"Look Wrex if you can't figure out how to placate your clans over one small bombardment of a batarian slave camp and Blood Pack base, that's your problem. My problem is the fact that the GP recon team on your planet was let in by you and given spotty information by your scouts. Now the way I see it you have a bit of an obligation to bite the bullet," a Shepardism he had picked up way back when "and mop this up. Preferably before the recon team dies. Mostly because I'd hate to be in your shoes if Benezia T’soni-Shepard dies on your planet." Garrus waited. There were two ways this could end up and one of them involved a very angry krogan and a bit of a galactic incident. 

Thankfully, Wrex laughed. "Always knew you had a quad on you, Vakarian!" He bellowed. Garrus shifted. He could feel Shepard's eyes on him, wondering how he had gotten Wrex so riled up. 

"So you'll let the frigate in?" He asked. 

"Sure, why not let the turians clean up the Blood Pack? Been a thorn in my side for a while now," he said. 

"Thanks Wrex," Garrus said. He was reaching to terminate the call when Wrex leaned in so his massive head filled the vid screen. 

"Listen turian," his voice was as close to a whisper as it got, "if I can tell that you're trying to get on Shepard's good side so can she. Don't forget why you're there." 

Garrus blushed and was thankful that his hide covered it well. Trust Wrex to come right out and say it. But he was right. 

"Got it. Thanks again Wrex," he said. The krogan snorted and terminated the call. 

"Are we clear?" Shepard barked from much closer to his shoulder then he had expected. He twitched and wondered how much of that she had heard. 

"Clear. Send in the frigate." 

Shepard spun and started barking orders. On the wall, the holo of Sparatus was doing the same thing. It was only moments before Velina was able to tell them the ship was on its way in. Garrus grinned. He wasn't sure how the mercs and criminals of the galaxy hadn't figured out that Shepard had friends in high places but if he were them he would be reevaluating his lifestyle by now. 

It was about forty minutes later when they got the call that the team had been picked up and all was well. There were some minor injuries and all five of them were exhausted and dehydrated, but they were okay. Shepard sagged in relief for about a minute before she was up and running again, thanking Velina and heading back upstairs to check in with Arkik. Like before she chose to take the stairs, even though her building had a perfectly good elevator. Garrus had to wonder if she just liked punishment. He followed her up though, thinking it was probably time for him to go and get back to his own job. Though technically maintaining relations with the GP was part of his job, it was still shaky grounds. 

"Listen Shepard-"

"Garrus I really-" 

They started at the same time. Garrus nodded for her to continue. 

"Thank you for all your help today. I really appreciate it," she said. Garrus fluttered his mandibles. Small victories. 

"No problem Shepard. Glad I could help." 

They were in her lobby and the standing and staring thing was getting awkward. Garrus cleared his throat and jerked a thumb at the door. "I should go. There's probably a line up of angry volus merchants at my office," he joked. To his great surprise her lips quirked up in that funny human expression he had been told was called a smirk. 

"That's your day? Angry volus merchants?" She asked. 

"Constantly. I'm pretty sure that's my entire job description. Well, that and dealing with the GP. So angry volus or angry Shepard. Either way somebody's mad." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and he waited for the inevitable bitter response but Shepard just grinned. Apparently she was in a good mood. 

"Which one's worse?" She asked. 

Garrus grinned back. "Angry Shepard, no doubt. I'm pretty sure I can drop kick an angry volus if I have to, but I don't think that would go over so well with you." 

And she actually laughed. Garrus took the opportunity to head for the elevator. Leave on a high note, right? The elevator arrived and when Garrus left Shepard was still standing in the lobby. She even waved at him. 

The moment Garrus got back to his office Nessa, his assistant, was on him. 

"Sir you have messages. And appointments. And Balus Ro is in the atrium. He's angry." Nessa followed him into his office where his computer was pinging at him. 

"Balus is always angry. Send him in in five minutes," he said. He opened his terminal and scrolled through his messages. To his great surprise, his newest message was from Shepard. 

To: G.Vakarian  
From: Shepard-Commander  
Re: Dinner?   
I'm hungry. No lunch. Dinner at Mikada at 7?  
\- Jane

He grinned. Maybe befriending Jane Shepard again wasn't such a lost cause. He was tapping out a quick reply when the volus merchant Balus Ro waddled into his office. 

To: Shepard-Commander  
From: G.Vakarian  
Re: Dinner  
Sounds good. I'll drop by your office. Also, told you. 

He clicked a picture of the volus huffing into his office and attached it to the message. That should make her smile. And the fact that she wanted to meet up again made him smile. Liara had said Shepard would come around, but truthfully he hadn't believed her. Now things were looking up.


	7. The Art of Maintenance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things start to build between our heroes. It's a slow build, but it'll get there. Probably next 3 chapters or so.

True to form, Garrus showed up in her office at 7:00 sharp. He was in civvies, which was still a shock after years of only seeing him in armor. He looked... Smaller. He was also nervous. Shepard had gotten good at reading turian expressions in all her dealings with them, and there was no mistaking the anxiety on Garrus. It was sort of sweet that he cared so much. Shepard immediately chastised herself for the thought. She was still supposed to be angry at him. He hadn't explained a damn thing, and no explanation was definitely not good enough to make up for twenty odd years of silence. But the other half of her couldn't help remembering why he had been her best friend. Being around him was just... easy. Like nothing had changed. 

Either way, she had asked him for dinner and she was starving. No backing out now then. 

"Hey," she said, and winced. It sounded too familiar. But weren't they? She didn't know. "You ready?" 

He nodded and pressed for the elevator. "Mikada, hm? That's a pretty swanky joint Shepard," he teased. At least, she thought he was teasing. Why was she nervous? She shifted her weight off her left leg, which was beginning to ache in the way that usually indicated a debilitating cramp was on its way. Shepard reached down and rubbed her thigh, relieved when the feeling subsided. 

"Nothing but the best for the Councilor," she said. He chuckled. 

"Tell you the truth I could go for a little less Councilor right now," he said, "I'm not quite used to it." 

She smiled wryly. She remembered that feeling. People staring, the gossip, the fables people asked... But you adapted. 

"I know how you feel," she said. 

"Yeah, I figured. Hero and all. Tell you what though, I could really go for a burger." 

She laughed. That was the Garrus she remembered. She had taken him for his first burger when they were hunting Saren. She'd never forget how his eyes lit up even at the dextro equivalent. Then her eyes narrowed. Was he saying that because he knew she would remember? Get her nostalgic and hope she'd be easier to butter up? She considered asking him but didn't. Did it matter? She'd rather burgers anyways. 

"Well let's go get burgers then," she suggested. 

"No, you wanted Mikada," he said. Now he felt bad. 

"Nah," she waved him off, "I said Mikada because I didn't know if you were too fancy for burgers." 

They were at the Presidium level now and the elevator dinged open. Shepard walked out but was stalled when Garrus grabbed her arm. 

"I'm still me, Shepard. You know me," he said. 

She shook him off and looked him in the eyes. "No, I don't. But you seem to want to change that, so let's get burgers." 

She thought he was going to argue, but he didn't. She could tell he wasn't happy about it though. She wondered how long his repentant streak would last. 

It lasted through to the burger place, at least. Sam's Old Fashioned Hamburger Stand hadn't made it through the collision of the Citadel with Earth - not much had - but Sam was nothing if not persistent. He was also a big fan of Jane. 

"Commander!" He hollered from the kitchen when she walked in. "Usual seat?" She nodded and waved and walked Garrus to her usual booth. She'd been bringing the girls here for twenty years; she knew her way around the place. They sat down and Garrus looked around in awe. Sam's was done up in classic 1950's American style and it was a bit different from the austere future chic the rest of the Citadel sported. There were old vehicle license plates on the walls and neon tube lighting done in various pin-up girls or manufacturer logos. Old photos of earth were packed in amongst posters from centuries-old films and sight-seeing ads inviting the viewer to come to beautiful Niagara Falls or see Route 66. Shepard loved it. It reminded her of everything she had stood for. Still stood for. 

"This is... Interesting," Garrus said. He pointed at a neon dancing girl in a martini glass, one leg lifting enticingly as the neon flicked on and off. "Why is she in a cup?"

Shepard was saved from answering by the timely arrival of their server, a tiny blonde woman who squealed at Shepard and insisted on wrapping her in a one armed hug. 

"Commander Shepard! We thought you'd forgotten us!" She shrilled. Jane grinned, feeling old around Catty's enthusiasm. 

"Hi Cat. How are you?" Catty proceeded to give her the latest gossip, to which Jane listened indulgently. Did it matter to her that Catty's boyfriend Jeremy might have slept with the new bartender? Nope. But she liked listening to the girl babble and she liked how Cat didn't need to ask for her order and how no one in the bar cared who she was past that she kept showing up. Catty chattered while she brought them drinks - beer for Jane and the turian equivalent for Garrus, delivered with a big wink - and when she came back a few minutes later with their food. After that she gushed, "Okay, I'm all tapped out," which was never true, but left them alone to eat. 

Jane had kept an eye on Garrus through the whole deluge and she doubted she had ever seen him look more shell-shocked. His mouth gaped open and when Cat left it took him almost a full minute before he spoke. 

"Do you think Jeremy is really sleeping with the bartender?" He asked. Shepard wasn't sure what she had been expecting but that wasn't it. She sputtered and burst out laughing. Garrus smirked at her. He took a bite of his burger while he waited for her to calm down. 

"So what do you think?" Jane asked a moment later. Garrus groaned and cleared his mouth. 

"It's perfect," he said, "how did she know?" 

Jane shrugged. "That's Catty, she always knows." 

Garrus spoke between bites, intent on devouring his burger as quickly as possible. In some ways it was quite entertaining to watch him eat, since turian mouth plates weren't built to accommodate burgers. He had to kind of tilt his head and cram it in there, but he was getting the job done. "I can see why you like this place," he said. 

Jane snorted, sudden inspiration striking. "I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite spot on the Citadel," she said. Garrus nearly spit chunks. He had to put his food down and cover his mouth. 

"Oh spirits do you remember how mad they all were they found out you gave them each the same endorsement?" He asked. Shepard cackled. She did. 

The rest of their evening passed quickly. Jane was again amazed by how natural it was to be around Garrus, like this was normal. More and more of her wished it was. About halfway through their meal - which was greatly extended by Garrus looking longingly at another behemoth hamburger when he finished his, so much so that Catty brought him another one with another big wink - her bad leg started tingling. She rubbed it and ignored it. But it was persistent and by the time they got their dessert Shepard could feel a full on cramp coming on. She grimaced, then tuned back into what Garrus was saying. 

"I'd like to be friends again, Shepard," he was saying. Not a great time for grimacing. She sighed and diverted her attention back to him. 

"You still have a lot of explaining to do," she said. 

His shoulders slumped. "I know. But I will, if you think you could forgive me." 

She considered. This was a crossroads. She knew which way she wanted to go, but she was hurt. On the other hand, it wasn't going to do her any good to not hear him out. 

"I'll try," she said. He brightened considerably, but faltered when she grimaced again. 

"Are you okay?" He asked. 

She waved his concern away like she would irritating flies. "I'm fine. The leg just hurts sometimes." 

Garrus clearly wanted to ask about it but he thought better of it and refocused. "Where do I start? I never meant for this to happen, you know, I just couldn't - are you sure you're okay?" 

Shepard's grimace had returned full force and she was actively kneading her leg now. "Sorry, sometimes after a stressful day it kinks up and then I get nasty muscle spasms."

"Do you have any medicine?" He asked. He was half out of his seat like he wanted to help but didn't know how. She paused at his question, unsure how much she wanted to tell him. Then the first spasm shook her body and the decision was made for her. 

"No. I sort of... Had trouble self-regulating my pain meds and now when I need a muscle relaxant I have to go to Huertas." She waited for the inevitable judgement but Garrus was quiet. She didn't want to look at him. It wasn't something she was proud of and she didn't want to see the pity on his face. The moment of silence stretched into a few though and finally she had to look up. Garrus was very calmly tapping on his omnitool. 

Another cramp seized Shepard's leg and she hissed. "Garrus, what are you doing?" 

"Calling a cab. If you need to go to Huertas I'm taking you to Huertas," he said. Shepard opened her mouth to argue but a wave of pain and the resulting nausea swept over her. 

"Fine. Fuck!" She swore. "I used to be better than this!" She swung her body sideways so she was sitting off the end of the bench.

Garrus moved around the table and knelt in front of her. "Shepard. There is nothing to be better than." He reached out and touched her left knee. She hissed in pain but didn't stop him. His words had slightly floored her. Garrus began slowly kneading her muscles, targeting the brutal knots that built up around her knee when she cramped. It hurt, but every time he moved the seized muscles would ease a little. Shepard's breath huffed out of her in tight gasps, like she was containing her pain by not breathing. It felt to her like time slowed down around them, with her sitting breathing and Garrus methodically working over her. 

But at the same time it wasn't nearly soon enough when Catty came over and murmured that their cab had arrived and she had charged the food to Jane's account. She took one of Shepard's arms and Garrus took the other and they pulled her upright. Luckily the booth was in the back of the diner and very few patrons could see them. That was always the worst part. The great Commander Shepard laid low in public. Catty led them out the back of the restaurant and around through a little alley to the waiting skycar. 

Garrus loaded her into the cab and she tried to protest when he climbed in after her. He shut her down before she could get a word out. "Don't. I'm coming with you," he said. She let him. She wasn't sure when Garrus had become commanding, but she was pretty sure she liked it. She supposed on reflection that he had always had it in him. Garrus punched the coordinates for Huertas Memorial Hospital into the nav system and off they went. When he settled back into the seat beside her she knew from the set of his shoulders that he had questions. She guessed some things didn't change. 

"How often does this happen?" He asked. His voice was quiet in the still of the car and she wished that he would rub her leg again. The knots were building up and her whole thigh was a blur of hurt. She pressed down on her heel - sometimes it helped - and tried not to sound too strained. "Every few months or so. Used to be more often but it's getting better." 

He was quiet. She knew he wanted to ask, and she hated awkward silences, so she just blurted it out. "I wasn't like an addict or anything. I just didn't realize that my biotics and the Cerberus cybernetics would increase my tolerance, so I kept having to take more. Now they give me an elcor muscle stim because nothing else works, but those are fucking dangerous so I have to go to the hospital for them," she said. 

Something in her voice must have tipped him off because he gently moved her fingers aside and started massaging again. Shepard sighed in relief. 

"I didn't think you were an addict," he said quietly. She actually believed him. "Everyone has issues Shepard." He looked like he wanted to say more but she cut him off. 

"So where'd you learn to do this?" She asked, gesturing at his hand on her leg. The Garrus she remembered was a consummate soldier, all big talk and awkward swagger. Now his fingers were careful, precise, and expert at finding points of pain and disposing of them. It spoke of a lot of practice, and she suddenly realized that maybe she didn't want to know. 

"Tharius - my son - had a plate condition when he was younger. His plates didn't grow as fast as his muscles, so he was in pain a lot. This helped," Garrus explained. 

Shepard managed a little smile at the change in the tone if his voice when he talked about his son. It was clear he was proud of Tharius and that he loved him. She knew that feeling. Though for some reason his son's name was vaguely familiar. Tharius. Why did that name sound familiar? 

"He's what, fourteen? Your son?" She asked. It was a good distraction and truthfully she didn't know much about Garrus's life now. Like why he was at the Citadel and his son wasn't. 

"Yeah. How did you - Liara." He answered his own question. She quirked a pain filled smile at him. 

"She is handy, you have to admit," she said. 

Garrus's fingers never slowed. "Yes she is." 

She had questions for him. Like where was his son and what had happened to his wife? She was sure he had questions for her too, but neither of them were asking just yet. They were also pulling up to Huertas Memorial Hospital, which put an effective end to their awkward silence. The sky car touched down in Huertas’ landing zone and Garrus got out then pulled Shepard to the edge of the seat. 

 

“Can you walk?” He asked. She put some weight on her leg and he could see her face pale. She bit her lip and shook her head. She wondered if he knew how much it cost her to admit that. Garrus did with this information the same thing he had done with everything so far: he didn't say a damn thing, just scooped under her knees with one arm and shoulders with the other and picked her up. 

"I fucking hate this," Shepard grumbled. Garrus chuckled and she could feel his chest rumble against her side. 

"I fucking hate you too," she groused. She was immediately worried that he would take her seriously, but his rumbling laugh intensified. 

"You don't mean that," he said. 

She sighed. She didn't and he knew it. Garrus awkwardly patted her shoulder with the hand holding it. "Come on Commander, let's go get you drugged up."


	8. The Art of Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shepard is loopy, Garrus is sad, and stairs are hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! It's been like a week since I updated. Sorry :(. I'm trying to stay a chapter ahead in my writing so that i can edit as I go, but this week kicked my ass. I moved, had midterms, and finished projects. So without further ado, hopefully we can get back to a more regular schedule of once every few days ish. :P  
> -AO.

None of the doctors at Huertas Memorial Hospital were surprised to see Shepard come in, Garrus noted upon carrying her through the hospital lobby. Shepard even waved at a couple of them. A nurse ushered them straight through to one of the small rooms in minor treatment and told them to wait there for a woman called Sandy. Shepard visibly paled at that name, and Garrus wished they were close enough that he could ask her why. 

As it was, he felt like he was trespassing by being here. He had sort of insisted that he come along and she had let him, so he was hoping that she didn’t mind but he still felt like he shouldn’t be here. He set Shepard down on the examination chair and then took up one of the other chairs for himself, trying to think of something to talk about. Being here with her was a bit of a revelation. He had known of course that the war had left her injured and that those injuries had never fully resolved, but it was another thing to see it first hand. It was like the Commander was… human. He didn’t know what to do with that. 

But then again, he was the one who had run away when she was lying in the hospital twenty four years ago, so maybe he had never known what to do with a less-than-heroic Commander Shepard. 

Luckily a very chipper human woman bounced into the examination room to cut Garrus off from that line of thinking. She was the brightest human Garrus had seen in a while, which was really saying something. Her uniform was white and pink, as many were, but with the addition of a long golden ponytail and an eerily wide smile she looked like a doll. 

“Jane!” She chirped. Garrus wondered when Shepard had gone from only ever being called by her last name to being known mostly as Jane. It was an odd distinction, but to him it spoke volumes about her life now. 

“Sandy,” Shepard said. Her face was still pale. It was worrying. 

Sandy wasted no time questioning Shepard, just went straight for the leg. “Knee again? Seized up? What were you doing?” 

“Nothing!” Shepard protested, but withered under a look from the doctor. “There was an emergency though.” 

It was the closest to whining Garrus had ever heard come out of her mouth and he couldn’t help snorting. Shepard shot him a look meant to spear him on the spot. 

“And who are you?” Sandy asked, turning the full weight of her cheer on Garrus. There was something about her that made him want to run away or salute, by turns. Like her shiny exterior covered a ruthless inside. 

“This is Councilor Garrus Vakarian, Sandy. We were having dinner when the cramps started,” Shepard saved him. 

“Oh! The Garrus Vakarian?” Sandy asked her. To Garrus’s surprise Shepard’s cheeks colored a little. Well. That was interesting. “I had no idea he was - well. Nice to meet you Councilor,” Sandy said. Shepard’s cheeks were bright red now. Garrus had no idea what to make of that. Thankfully neither Shepard or Sandy seemed to want to pick that thread of conversation up. Sandy was too busy huffing at Shepard’s stiff leg and Shepard was too busy not looking at Garrus. 

“Jane, have you been doing your exercises?” Sandy asked. 

Shepard started to stutter a yes but stopped before she could get the first syllable out. “I’ve been busy,” she said instead. 

Sandy frowned, her blonde ponytail swinging back and forth as she manipulated Shepard’s knee. The Commander’s face was screwed up in pain. 

“Look, I can give you something for the pain right now but if you don’t do your exercises regularly you’ll be back here for an extended visit. And you always act like an asshole when we hospitalize you so maybe just do the exercises, okay?” She offered. 

Shepard chuckled. “I was not that bad, Sandy,” she said. 

“No, you weren’t,” the doctor admitted, “but you were whinier than Ben when she broke her arm the first time. I don’t want to deal with that again, so do your damn exercises. It’s been twenty four years, Shepard, and I don’t want to be on my deathbed muttering ‘do your damn exercises, Jane’ because you’ve driven me crazy!” Shepard laughed again. Garrus couldn’t help but like this doctor, given how easily she could make the Commander laugh. 

“Fine, I’ll try,” Shepard said. 

“Good. You!” Sandy had turned on Garrus. He again felt the urge to salute. Or escape. “Make sure she does the stretches. Twice a day.” 

Garrus was taken aback. “Oh, I don’t - we aren’t - I - Shepard?” Maybe he could tag out of this one. But the doctor waved his stuttering off, clearly disinterested. 

“Don’t care. Make sure she does her exercises. How are you getting home, Jane? The muscle relaxant always makes you loopy and I don’t want to read about you wandering Zakera ward in the news tomorrow,” Sandy said. She was prepping a long syringe of greenish fluid that looked heartily creepy. 

“I’ll take a cab,” Shepard said. 

Garrus couldn’t help it. “I’ll get her home, Doctor,” he said. The doctor nodded, her hair bouncing around her head. 

“Good. Alright, hold still.” And she pressed the syringe to Shepard’s neck. There was a faint hiss and the fluid disappeared, presumably into Shepard. 

"I'll take a cab," Shepard growled, rubbing her neck at the injection site. Sandy swatted her. 

"No you will not. He offered to take you home, let him. I'd let him take me home," she said this with an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle at Garrus. Humans. He never quite got them. 

Shepard was looking increasingly panicked though. "Sandy-"

"Jane." The doctor was firm and whatever information they exchanged through that look, Garrus was not privy to it. Whatever Shepard was trying to hide, the doctor disagreed. Garrus was beginning to feel like an ass for offering though. He hadn't wanted to make Shepard uncomfortable. 

"Fine," Shepard broke the stalemate first. She still wouldn't look at Garrus. 

"Good! Let's get you moving," Sandy chirped, all her chipper exterior back in place. She helped Shepard to her feet and made her walk around the room, ignoring Shepard's protests. She kept the grumpy Commander at it until it was clear that the muscle relaxant had kicked in. Shepard's eyes unfocused slightly and her stream of muttered profanities slurred a little. Once it had taken effect Sandy procured a wheelchair and plopped Shepard into it. Then she took Garrus by one arm and pulled him out of the room. 

"Listen Councilor-" 

"Garrus is fine," he interrupted. 

"Councilor," she said firmly. He didn't protest. "I don't know much of your history with Jane except what she's told me, but if you're here to help you should know - the elcor relaxant can cause hallucinations and God knows Jane has enough baggage to hallucinate over. Do not let her near weapons, do not let her try to do anything energetic, and do not leave her alone until she falls asleep. Alright?" The doctor looked worried, chewing on her bottom lip between orders. Garrus nodded, though he wasn't sure how to react. The great Shepard, hallucinating? 

The panic was sudden and breathtaking. "Doctor, I'm not good at - well, any of this. Taking care of people. Jane. I don't - last time -" 

Sandy patted his shoulder, her expression softening to something like sadness. "Like I said, I don't know much about what happened. But I've been Shepard's physical therapist for eight years now, and I've heard a few things. Seems to me like this is a pretty cut and dried situation: either you fuck it up or you don't. I'd recommend not fucking it up." She grinned at him, turned on her heel, and marched back into Shepard's room with a loud "Who's ready to get out of here?" 

*

Shepard’s apartment looked just like he remembered it, except more… her than the last time he was here. Pictures of her kids had replaced the abstract art on the walls and the shelves held children’s books or toys as well as Shepard’s collection of old literature. Behind the plant beside the door Garrus noticed a framed piece of armor with the smudged and faded N7 on it. It looked like she had tried to hide it with the plant in front of it, and the thought fit with what he knew of Shepard now. She had been quick to try to put the war hero image behind her by starting the GP and disappearing into her work, but clearly either she or Liara had wanted a reminder. Garrus suspected Liara. 

Shepard’s eyes were half lidded by this point and she looked about ready to go to bed. The doctor’s warnings were echoing around his head and Garrus had no idea how to handle Shepard now, so he was hoping she was tired enough to let him put her to bed and sleep it off. 

“Is your bedroom still upstairs, Shepard?” He asked. She rolled her head around to blink up at him like she couldn’t quite hear him. 

“Shepard?” He prompted. She blinked slowly. 

“Garrus. When’d you… you’re gone.” Shit. He did not want to deal with Shepard hallucinating anything. There was a brief moment where he considered calling someone - anyone - else to come over and take her off his hands but he dismissed the idea as quickly as it came. The doctor was right, again. This was make or break time. He couldn’t make up for the past, but maybe he could start building a better future. He damn sure wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. 

“I’m right here, Commander,” he said, decision made. “You’re at home. You were in pain earlier so you went to the hospital and they gave you some strong drugs.” 

“Hmmm. Anderson’s apartment,” she said. That hurt his heart. She couldn’t still consider this Anderson’s home, could she? But he wasn’t about to argue the point.

“Yeah. Do you remember where your bedroom is?” He asked. Her head rolled and she blinked at him. 

“Garrus… thought you left again. Upstairs. Big room,” she said. Well, it was something. He wheeled her to the foot of the stairs and then picked her up again. She was lighter than a hero should be. He shifted her in his arms and started up the stairs. About halfway up Shepard focused in on him again and lifted a hand to his face. She stroked down his old scars, that constant reminder of their history. He couldn’t quite ask her to stop. 

“Came for you first, you know,” she said. He didn’t know what she was talking about, and he hoped… but no, she was continuing. “Archangel… who else could it have been? Mordin… in a plague zone, but came for you first. Couldn’t… No me without you. Then… Menae. No idea you were there, but, possibility… came for you first. Every time.” 

He had walked her to what he hoped was her bedroom and he didn’t remember getting there. All of his bones wanted to run away from her. None of them could move. He deposited Shepard on the bed in the middle of the room and she stood right back up, for once not favoring her left leg. Both her hands came up now and she ran her fingertips - just the fingertips, like ghosts on his skin - over his mandibles. 

“Always came for you first. Where did you go? Why did you go?” She asked. Her eyes were more focused than they had a right to be. Garrus couldn’t hold up the weight of all the guilt. His head bent forward and he rested his forehead on hers. 

“I’m so sorry, Jane,” he whispered. It was the first time he had said her name out loud to her. 

“S’okay Garrus. You’re back now,” she said, and yawned. She laid down on the bed and he stood for a long minute, head bowed and too afraid to look at her. 

“You’ll stay now, right?” She asked, and he would have promised her anything if it meant his shoulders were a little lighter. 

“Of course,” he said. He broke out of his immobility and pulled a blanket up over her form. Even lying down it was clear her left leg was a little wrong and her right hand was a little off. Jane looked up at him with the type of clarity he remembered from the Normandy, the kind that could see right into his soul and stop him in his tracks. 

“Good. Missed you,” she said, and she closed her eyes. Garrus knelt beside her bed and tried to convince himself he wasn’t falling. From here her face was on the level with his. Scars rippled down her cheek - sort of like his - and the faint lines of her old cybernetics were visible, all closed up now. She was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

“I missed you too, Jane,” he said.


	9. The Art of Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Garrus paces, Shepard primps, and Arkik is a font of information.

Jane Shepard woke up to the sound of the news and the smell of bacon. If she kept her gun by her bed anymore she would have grabbed it. As it was, she climbed out of bed with every intention of perpetrating bodily harm on whoever was in her house. Then she noticed upon standing that her left leg was stiff, like it usually was after she had cramped up, and the previous evening came rushing back to her. Garrus, the hospital, Garrus… 

She groaned. That would be him moving around downstairs then, wouldn’t it? Of all the people she didn’t want to face in the morning, he was probably top of her list. Scratch that, he was definitely top of her list. Jane decided to procrastinate and went to the bathroom to freshen up. 

It was a good decision; she was a mess. Her hair stood up like shoots of red grass and her makeup had smudged down to her temple. Not to mention she was still in her clothes from the day before. She peeled out of her clothes and washed her face, deciding to forgo a full shower until later since she was hungry. She brushed her shoulder-length hair down and put a bit of mascara on, put new clothes on and figured that was good enough. She hobbled out of her room and down the stairs only to be greeted by the sight of Arkik making breakfast. 

"Ah, good morning Commander," he said, as bright and cheerful as only Arkik could be in the morning. "How are you feeling? Breakfast is nearly ready. I've rescheduled your meetings today on Doctor Sandara's orders and I've uploaded all the latest mission reports onto your terminal. Here, coffee." Shepard grunted at him, took the coffee, and tried to ignore the little flare of disappointment she felt when it was Arkik in the kitchen and not Garrus. 

"Oh, there's a message for you on the door panel," Arkik added before going back to stirring eggs and humming. Shepard grunted again and wandered to the door. The holographic panel on the door was blinking green and when she pressed it a text message popped up. Shepard had enabled the door's messaging service after she had missed too many deliveries and visitors by being at work 99% of the time. 

"Shepard - I called Arkik this morning, hope you don't mind. I had a few meetings but I'm off for lunch at noon. Bring you some Hiro? PS: your couch is not turian friendly and I am old. -G." Shepard read it again and couldn't help but smile. 

*

The stiffness in her leg very quickly turned into an aching that immobilized her for the rest of the day, so by the time Garrus appeared in Shepard's apartment with a few bags from Hiro, she was ready to explode. She assumed it was quite a sight for him: she was sprawled on the couch, alternating bellowing at Arkik and bellowing at the vid screen when she wanted to change channel. There was literally nothing good on. Arkik was sitting at her terminal, just out of sight around the edge of the kitchen. Every time she yelled something at him he would answer like this was a normal occurrence, and she supposed for them it was. But to Garrus, who stood blinking in the entry, it was probably slightly odd. He recovered well though and walked over to her to deposit her food then took the other bag to Arkik, who was most likely beyond surprised to be thought of. 

"How are you feeling?" Garrus asked, wandering back over to her couch and perching on one end of it. Shepard hauled herself upright so he could actually sit down. 

"Much better," she said. She opened her food and hummed in appreciation. Hiro was always good and she was ravenous. "Thank you, by the way. I don't think I said it last night but I appreciate what you did for me." 

Garrus shrugged that bird like shrug that always reminded her he was alien. Most of the time, he was just Garrus. "Anyone would have-"

She cut him off. "No, they wouldn't. But you did, so thank you."

He looked like he didn't know what to say to that, so Shepard yelled at the tv to change channels again and ate her lunch. After a few moments of silence - moments that were getting less and less awkward and reminding Shepard more and more of their easy companionship on the Normandy - Garrus cleared his throat. She looked over at him. He hadn't eaten much of his violently purple food, and he was twisting his hands in his lap. She smirked. Same old Garrus. Maybe he was right. Maybe she did still know him. 

"I told you last night that I would explain what happened after the War. Do you... Still want to know?" He asked. She raised her eyebrows. This was not what she was expecting. 

But still... She nodded. Garrus stood up and started pacing. She knew it used to be best to wait him out, and it looked like that was still the case. After a minute he started speaking. 

"I was a coward, Shepard," he said. "When you were in the hospital after they found you in the rubble it didn't look good. The doctors had no supplies, no access to the relays to get more, no way to repair your cybernetics... It was a bad situation. A lot of the turians trapped on Earth after the battle died. No dextro food."

Shepard's head ducked. She knew that. She still felt guilt over that one. She had thought destroying the Reapers was the best way to save the galaxy, but the aftermath had been... Difficult. 

"When we finally got back to Earth they had already found you. We all went to the hospital but they didn't know when you would wake up. Shepard, you were... It was... Nobody thought you would live. No one except Liara. She never gave up on you. The others left as the relays were repaired. I was the last person to leave, and three days after I went Liara called to say you were awake. You have to understand, the doctors said if you woke up you wouldn't be the same. You would never walk again, you would probably have brain damage, you might not remember things... I was a coward. I couldn't handle you not being the same, so I didn't go back to Earth. I told myself I would wait until Liara said you were okay, and then I'd go see you. But I didn't. And after a while, it had just gone on too long, you know? I thought you probably hated me by now so it would be better if I just stayed away. I never meant for it to happen, Shepard, and I'm sorry." He was finished. He slumped into her couch and hung his head, still ashamed of himself even after all this time. 

Jane didn't know what to say. It made sense, but she felt like something was missing. He had been her best friend. He had had her back through every one of their suicidal missions and he had never doubted her. Not after she had died and was resurrected, not when she was the only person to have seen a Reaper, not when she went up against the council and the Alliance and everyone else. But the moment she was hurt and there was a possibility she might not recover he ran away. Her immediate response was to be angry, to declare that she never would have done that to him, that he was an asshole for abandoning her when she needed him. She remembered the confusion when Garrus didn't come back to Earth, the panic and then eventual hurt when she tried to contact him and never got through. It would be easy to brush him off as weak and worthy of her disgust. But. Jane had been a soldier all her life, and a commanding officer for more than half of that. She had seen more than a few soldiers who were meticulous and capable on the field but couldn't handle emotional stress. Garrus had never been great at the emotional stuff so she supposed given the right circumstance...

She sighed. Liara was right, as usual. It wasn't the reason she wanted but it was better than she had expected. She wanted to forgive Garrus because she wanted what they used to have. She wanted to be friends again. 

"I get it," she said. He peeked up at her. "I don't like it, but I get it. I hope you know that this doesn't mean I trust you, and it doesn't mean everything goes back to being like old times." Garrus perked up with every word she said, and by the end he was sitting up, looking more at ease than she had seem him yet. 

"Of course not, Shepard. You've never been that easy to win over." 

She chuckled. She had heard that before. They sat in silence for a moment before Garrus started fidgeting like he had something to say. She waited but no words were forthcoming from the squirming turian. 

"Oh spit it out," she said. She tilted a smirk at him when he looked surprised. 

"Well... Your daughter, Hannah, invited me to her gallery opening on Illium next week. I was wondering if you have any idea why?" He asked. Ah. Of course she did. Shepard knew exactly why her meddling artist had invited Garrus, but there was no way she was telling him. So she shrugged and played it off. 

"Nope. Hannah has her own reasons for everything. I gave up on understanding them a while ago. Do you want me to make an excuse for you?" She asked. 

"No, actually I had planned to go out to Illium soon for some business, so this'll work out. I've found it's best not to aggravate any Shepard women if you can help it. I'm leaving after work the day before the show, did you want to catch a ride?" He asked, then blinked like he hadn't expected to say that. Shepard hid a grin. Hands down that was her favorite Garrus-ism, when he said something and then realized he hadn't quite meant to. She was glad his years of politicking hadn't changed that. 

Unfortunately though, "I can't. Wrex, Bakara and I agreed to meet up a few days before the show and plan that conference you wanted the GP to moderate," she said. 

Garrus looked hurt. "He didn't invite me." 

Shit, Shepard thought. This was the problem she was going to run into now. Garrus was a politician and sometimes his politics would land him on the opposite side of things from Shepard. She needed to remember to keep work Garrus and friend Garrus separate. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize. But to be fair, you and I have met about it without Wrex," she pointed out. 

Garrus heaved a melodramatic sigh. "It was so much easier when we were just shooting things," he said. 

Shepard couldn't agree more. But Garrus didn't want to discuss Illium anymore, that was clear in the set of his shoulders and the way he scoped the room looking for alternate subjects, so she changed the channel on the vid screen to Fleet and Flotilla, which was always streaming somewhere, and was rewarded with immediate commentary from Garrus. He hated that film, and proceeded to explain why for the next forty minutes. And when he reluctantly got up to go back to work he asked her about lunch the next day and she agreed. 

*

Lunch with Garrus became standard practice in the days leading up to Shepard's departure to Illium. Sometimes they had lunch at a restaurant, but more often that not one of them would take food to the other, who couldn't get away from the office for whatever reason. Things along the krogan borders were heating up as their leaders argued with the Council over planets to expand to and their people became increasingly aggravated by the stalemate. The less cooperative clans were even beginning to harass GP Recon and Support teams. There was no violence against the teams, given that any team going into krogan space had at least one krogan on it and most krogan felt that the GP was the organization most likely to be on their side if push came to shove, but some of them were making life difficult for Shepard's people. Twice Shepard had to authorize emergency Negotiators to talk the krogan into letting supply frigates leave the DMZ. 

The problem was that the krogan weren't focusing their growing unrest on the turians or salarians, they were angry at everyone. There was a history of repression of the krogan due to the genophage and it made them suspicious of everyone else in the galaxy. Shepard knew that mentality would change over time, but only if everyone could cooperate. If they couldn’t, well… The krogan were a ferocious enemy and the galaxy hadn't fully recovered from the Reaper war. No one wanted more conflict.

So Jane and Garrus worked overtime, Garrus negotiating and harrying the Council into allotting the krogan more leeway to expand in the Terminus systems and Shepard trying to keep hostilities along the borders to a concealable minimum. Shepard hoped that this conference with the krogans could settle things down, but she wasn't holding her breath. Illium would be a good indication of Wrex's mood. 

The morning Shepard was to leave for Illium found her running as fast as she could limp to her shuttle. She was late, as usual. Arkik was shuffling along beside her, chattering fast without drawing breath. It was impressive, really. 

“Supplementary information: Wrex signed a peace accord with the Council in 2188 that forbids krogan expansion without direct approval from all four Councillors. The accord also stipulates that the Council must allow the krogans to expand until their population stabilizes. The Council has not allotted the krogan any new planets or expansion zones since 2197,” Arkik rattled. Shepard listened with half her mind while the other half was working out the best strategy to use with Wrex. She knew the specifics of the peace accord between the krogan and the Council races; she had been there when it was signed. As far as anyone could tell, the krogans had held up their end of the bargain so far. 

Arkik talked until they were settled in the shuttle amongst other GP operatives heading out to the Carrier-class vessel in the Citadel’s orbit. He stopped once they were around other people, since their meeting with the krogan was still classified. Shepard, however, didn’t have any such worries. 

“Any suggestions on negotiation tactics?” She asked. This was Arkik’s specialty. He thought so fast and so furiously that he was usually miles ahead of everyone else. While she was trying to figure out her opening lines, Arkik was evaluating outcomes. He was also very observant, though he didn’t seem it. He had had Shepard’s nuances pinned down within a month of working for her, and now he didn’t think he needed to pay much attention to her, so he didn’t. She preferred it that way. As soon as Arkik had opportunity to observe something new, he would watch his subject until he had every minute behavioural tick memorized. 

"Wrex responds to straightforward arguments. He does not like pandering and he will not appreciate an appeal for the greater galactic good. Wrex wants to make sure the krogan come out of any potential deal with more benefits than they went in with. He respects you, Commander, so he is more likely to listen to you than anyone else. Our sources on Illium say he's brought Bakara with him as well, which could help temper his mood." 

"So same old then," Shepard said. 

"I doubt there will ever be a new way of arguing with Urdnot Wrex," Arkik said. 

Shepard snorted and settled back in her seat for the journey. It would take an hour or so to get to the carrier and then another two hours to the mass relay, which meant time for a nap. Jane was still a soldier at heart, even though she'd had relatively few things to shoot at since the war. She was still able to sleep wherever, whenever she wanted, a skill that Arkik was remarkably jealous of. Jane leaned her head back on the shuttle's hull and closed her eyes. 

"Wake me when we're approaching the carrier, please," she asked. Arkik muttered something about humans needing so much sleep and then Jane's world went dark


	10. The Art of Subtlety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shepard talks too much and shoots too little, Garrus is sticky like glue, and a turian is interested in art.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. This is a long one guys. As you'll see after you've read it things are now building up between our heroes, but we've a ways to go yet. Let me know what you think!

The dream was normal, at first. She was running through the woods dressed in her old N7 kit. She had no limp and her right hand worked properly. The woods were foggy, dark and deep, overgrown with black-trunked trees and obscured by falling leaves. She was filled with a sense of purpose, of dread. He was in here somewhere... 

Shadowy shapes were walking between the trees, whispering in familiar voices. She could only hear slices of their words but she got the gist. "Should have been-" "You weren't-" "faster, if you were just-" "better this way." "Somebody else might have gotten-" 

She couldn't run fast enough to reach any of them. It was like her legs were stuck in syrup and she was slogging through, desperately trying to move fast enough. She turned around a tree and there he was, huddled and afraid. He was crisply outlined in amongst all the fog, the only clear object for miles. She ran towards him, reaching for him. Every time she dreamed this dream it ended the same way, and every time it was surprising.

But this time, a second before the little boy should have burst into flames a hand appeared, reaching in from the side of her field of vision. It was a three fingered hand, covered in a black glove with blue and silver plates on the outside. She knew that hand. That hand had hauled her up off her ass more times than she could count. Shepard reached for his hand - 

And looked around at Anderson's apartment. It was the night of the infamous party, she could see that in an instant. Her crew - her friends - were scattered around the apartment, engaged in various activities. Javik was crouched beside the couch, pistol out and at the ready. Some of the ladies were dancing in the kitchen. Liara was there, loosening up for once. Shepard watched her, a bubble of fondness swirling through her chest. She remembered how clearly she loved that woman - still did, but it was different now. Garrus and Zaeed were on the balcony, the one that was later converted to a play area for the girls, discussing how best to electrocute the hot tub. James and Ashley were somewhere, she knew, flirting smoothly on James's part and awkwardly on Ash's. This was the night they got together, if she remembered properly. Strangely they were the most successful couple to come out of the crew. Both Spectres and going strong. Joker and Edi might have been another success story, but... Better not to think about that. 

Jane found herself climbing the stairs to the balcony, taking in little differences here and there that indicated this was a dream. Mordin was singing a paternoster to Grunt, who wholly didn't appreciate it, and Thane, who did. Anderson was laughing at something Cortez said. Jane blinked and found herself beside Garrus. He was smirking at her, full of light and camaraderie and not a little alcohol. There was none of the reserved, quick anxiety he had in real life now. 

"What?" She asked, slipping into the happy, carefree dream state she remembered from this party. Garrus chuckled and she giggled at him, then slapped her hand over her mouth. Commander Shepard didn't giggle. 

"You look good, tonight, Shepard. Happy," he said. Dream Shepard blushed. Dreaming Shepard frowned. She didn't remember this. Now she wasn't quite as sure of this dream. Had this really happened? Or was her brain imposing this on her? 

"You're not so bad yourself, big guy," she said. Was she flirting with him? Why would she - Dream Garrus reached out a talon and stroked it down her face. Shepard gasped and woke up. 

Her eyes darted around the shuttle hold, which was slowly emptying of people. Arkik was gathering their things. Shepard was still seated, and Garrus was nowhere to be seen. "Just a dream," she murmured, closing her eyes briefly. Just a dream. Arkik glanced at her but didn't say anything. He was used to her nightmares, and he knew better than to comment on them. Jane would rather suffer in silence. 

"Come on, Arkik," Shepard said a moment later, when she felt she had regained sufficient composure, "let's go argue with a krogan."

*

Illium never changed, Shepard thought as she and Arkik strolled back to Liara's and Javik's apartment. The city would always be a haven for the rich and illegal, a beautiful facade over a core of illicit debauchery. There weren't even any signs of the war left here, which Shepard supposed was what happened when a place's inhabitants had more money than sense. That being said, it was still one of the safest neutral places in the galaxy, and a lot of restoration efforts had been coordinated and funded from here, so she supposed it wasn't all bad. 

Their meeting and then their dinner with Bakara and Wrex had gone surprisingly well. Both krogan wanted to negotiate for more territory and neither wanted another war. Shepard was left feeling rather optimistic, a feeling she didn't usually have after diplomatic meetings. Their talks would resume in the morning, when she hoped they could get down to scheduling and details for their upcoming conference. The Urdnots were staying at a hotel near Liara's and they promised to be at Hannah's gallery opening. 

Shepard felt a little thrill of pride at that. She had hoped to remain close to her crew after everything they had been through, but the reality had exceeded her expectations. The fact that when given the opportunity to invite the people she loved to an event Hannah chose everyone from the old crew was proof enough. They were an odd family, but they worked. 

Liara's and Javik's apartment was in a tower in the financial district, where one of Liara's many Shadow Broker outlets was also hidden. Shepard and Arkik walked there, since it was a beautiful night out and Arkik had reminded her after dinner to stretch her leg. When they arrived at the building Shepard let herself in, knowing Liara wouldn't mind. Javik, however, did. 

They made it two steps into the apartment before Arkik squeaked out a sort of gargled burbling noise that one only heard when a person's throat was being squished. Shepard whirled and drew her gun, dropping to one knee and sighting on the mass of movement by the door. She made out the turquoise slope of Javik's head and switched tactics. She called up her biotics and hurled a stasis field over both of them, shouting "Javik you stupid son of a bitch it's Shepard!" as she went. Two of the Prothean's eyes flicked over to her then drooped in recognition. Shepard released the field. 

"Shepard. You should have warned of your arrival. The salarian could have been killed," Javik said as soon as he was able to move. Arkik rubbed his throat, but he nodded the okay when Shepard raised her eyebrows at him. 

"Do you try to kill everyone who comes into your apartment?" Jane asked. She struggled back up to her feet. Luckily she had dropped onto her right knee, which protested but held. Instincts still overrode injuries, apparently. 

"Only those who do so unannounced," he shot back, walking over to her and offering her a hand. Jane covered a smile and shook it. 

"Good to see you, Javik." 

"And you, Commander," he said. He took Shepard's bag off her shoulder and shrugged at her questioning look. 

"Your asari Liara insists I encourage visitors to remain in our dwelling. I disagree, but she is... Persuasive," he said. Shepard couldn't help it, she laughed. She had seen that resigned slump of the shoulders before. She had worn that look before. Liara was indeed persuasive, and she liked to get what she wanted. 

"You will stay in your accustomed room," Javik said, and she couldn't tell if he was asking her or telling her., so she said "thank you" and left it at that. Javik put her things down in the little spare bedroom she usually inhabited on Illium and installed Arkik into Ben's empty room. 

"Is anyone else staying here?" Jane asked after she had settled her luggage and taken her formal jacket off. Javik was buzzing around the kitchen, insistent on making her tea, even though she didn't really like the stuff. Guests got a hot beverage, he said, so he was making her a hot beverage. 

"Unfortunately. The quarian Tali'Zorah arrives tomorrow and the human Spectres will also be here," he said. 

"Great! I haven't seen Tali in... A year, I think? Not since Christmas on Tuchanka," Shepard said. 

Javik winced. "Please assure me that this gathering of the crew will not have the same results as your human festivities on Tuchanka," he said. 

Shepard grinned her widest, most insincere grin at him. The Protean spotted it and sighed. 

"If the younger krogan challenges me further I will not be responsible for his resulting health," he warned. Shepard laughed at that. This weekend was looking up. 

Shepard and Javik moved to the apartment's spacious living room, sipping tea and then beer after Shepard convinced him she had been sufficiently greeted by just the one hot beverage. Shepard had always enjoyed talking to Javik, even when he had been freshly revived and something of an asshole. The chance to look fifty thousand years into the past was always too tempting to let his bitterness get in the way. Now that the war had been won though, Javik had mellowed considerably. He was ferociously intelligent and his perspective on the galaxy was constantly that of an observer, rather than a participant, which made his opinion invaluable. Shepard suspected he also enjoyed her company, despite his grousing. 

When Hannah got home she shrieked at both Jane and Arkik until Javik pinned her with a yellow-eyed glare. Then, to Jane's great surprise she went over to the Prothean and kissed the top of his insect-like head. 

"Sorry, grumpy-bear," she said. Shepard's jaw dropped, and she was half ready to stasis Javik again should he try to eviscerate her daughter, but again he surprised her. 

"Human child! How often must I tell you that I am not a bear, and I am not grumpy?" He said. Hannah laughed, patted his head, and went to get a beer. She brought her mother one and curled up catlike on the couch beside her, ready to talk their ears off about her gallery. Shepard just sat back and enjoyed it. Liara arrived shortly thereafter and settled in suspiciously close to Javik on the opposite couch, and when she caught Jane scrutinizing the two of them she just shook her head and glared. Jane grinned. It was good to be here, with her family. 

*

"So, you invited Garrus to this shindig, eh?" Jane asked a day later. She and Hannah were at the gallery. Shepard was ostensibly supposed to be helping Hannah with... something, but it had ended up being a ploy by her eldest daughter to get her mother out of the endless meetings with the krogan and spend time with her. Not that Shepard minded. Things with Wrex hadn't gone as well today. They hadn't been able to agree on anything, from where to hold the conference to who to invite. The only thing they both agreed was that the only armed presence to be allowed at the thing, should it ever actually happen, would be the GP. By the end Shepard had been happy to get away. 

"Yes," her daughter drawled. Hannah was watching Jane from the corner of her eye. As ever, Jane could read the girl like a book. 

"To what end?" She asked. 

Hannah shrugged. She was sticking to the innocent act, apparently. "No end, Mumsy. I just thought since you two are friends again it would be nice for the whole crew to get together." 

It sounded good, but she wasn't buying it. "Hannah..." 

Her daughter turned from the painting she was hanging and put her hands on her hips. Her hair was purple today and she had a bio tattoo curling around her ear. She had kept all the piercings though. "Seriously Mumsy. No plotting. I remember what happened with that General." She shuddered. Her meddling had nearly caused an inter-species incident. Since then Hannah had mostly stayed out of Shepard's non-existent love life, but some things you just couldn't live down. 

Shepard walked over to stand beside her daughter. She looped an arm around Hannah's shoulders and squeezed her for a second. "Good. Keep that in mind, yeah?" 

Hannah nodded and the two spent a quiet moment staring at Hannah's painting on the gallery wall. It was an abstract expressionist piece full of the swirling oranges, browns and reds of a Rannoch sunset. Two figures were painted in exquisite detail on a wide hill of brown and grey stone; a quarian and a geth. The figures were not abstract, rather they were as realistic as Hannah could make them. It was a beautiful piece, even though it hit Shepard with a pang of intense guilt and sorrow. She hadn't been able to save the geth, not really. The quarians had managed to salvage a lot of geth tech and were slowly rebuilding them, but they would never be the same. A few geth had escaped the crucible's blast and they were helping rebuild, but... 

Hannah squeezed her mother back. "They were at peace at the end, right?" She asked. Shepard kissed the top of Hannah's head. Her daughter always knew what was upsetting Jane and always knew what to say. 

"They were," she replied. Hannah nodded but said nothing, apparently considering her job done. 

"Well," Jane said, snapping out of her reverie, "it's a beautiful piece, daughter of mine. You're going to be the talk of the town." 

And she was, mostly because when the Normandy crew occupied a space they tended to take over, which they did to the gallery on the night of Hannah's show. Many of the old crew showed up, and those who didn't sent their regards. It was the best feeling, Shepard thought, standing at the gallery's bar in a knee-length black cocktail dress and watching her crewmates interact. Even though she couldn't save them all, she had done good. 

Hannah was beaming like a lighthouse, surrounded by her friends and discussing art. This was her element and Shepard was almost obnoxiously proud of her. 

"Commander Shepard," an unfamiliar flanged turian voice sounded near her shoulder. Jane slid into diplomacy mode. She turned slightly so she could see the turian. He was tall with bright white colony markings over his chin and mandibles, and he was leaning against the bar with a very carefully crafted nonchalance that could spell trouble. 

"Your daughter is very talented," he said. He was laying on the subvocals pretty thick. Shepard hadn't spent twenty four years working with turians without picking up a few things. This fellow meant to flirt with her. If it weren't rude, Jane would have heaved an impressive sigh. She studied him quickly. He looked a bit younger than her, perhaps mid forties or so. He was confident, that was for sure, but beyond that, she wasn't getting much off him. 

"Yes, she is," she said cautiously. He straightened up and offered her a hand. 

"Sepulcio Ferion," he introduced when she shook his hand, "I'm an art buyer." 

The internal sigh Shepard let loose this time was almost epic in proportion. Now she was obligated to talk to this fellow, because he might buy some of Hannah's work and that was worth a little discomfort. 

"And you're interested in Hannah's work," she said. His mandibles flared in the turian equivalent of a smile. 

"Yes. Her Rannoch painting is very impressive," Ferion said, "do you know what motivated her to create it?" 

This was the worst. The worst, Jane thought. She didn't know anything about art. It hadn't exactly been a priority in her life. "Well, Hannah grew up with a lot of quarian friends. We spent quite a bit of time on Rannoch after the war, rebuilding and trying to salvage some of the geth," she said. That was all public knowledge. As a rule, Jane didn't give out more information on her family than the galaxy already had. People were always trying to get a scoop on the T'soni-Shepards and it was almost always to try to create some gossip. 

"So Hannah was influenced by the struggles of Rannoch," Ferion said. 

"That's one way to put it," she said. 

"And what about you, Commander?" He asked. He sidled a little closer to her. Shepard clenched a fist. "Were you moved by the beauty and sorrow of the quarians?" 

Good grief, she thought. "Still am," she said. The turian grinned that cocky little smile again and slid a little closer. Shepard fought her biotics down, even though most of her wanted to crush him like a bug. 

"They are an interesting people, aren't they? I've never been to Rannoch. Is it as beautiful as your daughter makes it out to be?" He was quickly dropping all pretense of discussing Hannah's art and Shepard was about to drop him. From the corner of her eye she could see Jack and Ashley watching her, grinning. She should have known those assholes wouldn't rescue her when she needed it. Then, by the door, a flash of familiar blue. 

But the art buyer was speaking again and she couldn't track Garrus's movements while also pretending to pay attention to this man. 

"Maybe some day you could, ah, show me Rannoch," Ferion said. That was it. Shepard turned to face him fully, squaring her body up. Sepulcio Ferion straightened. She had that effect on people. He also lost that cocky flaring grin. 

"Well that's a bit forward, don't you think?" She asked. He fell back a little, completely off his guard now. 

"I'm confused, Mr. Ferion. What's your best possible outcome here? I say 'sure, maybe I will show you Rannoch', and then what? We jet off together? I mean, if I were you I would have at least feigned interest in my daughter's work for a little longer. That would have kept me around. But no, you went for smarmy and quick. I don't know what kind of women you usually attract, friend, but I am too old and too crotchety to fall for that line of bs. Now. Would you like to switch tactics or are we done here?" She said all of it in her most conversational, friendly voice, like she really did want him to be better at hitting on people. It was alarming, and she could see him looking for an out. It came in the form of Garrus Vakarian clapping a hand down on his shoulder and saying, "I think we're done here." 

Shepard hadn't thought Ferion's face could pale any further, but she was wrong. She was fighting off a grin. He hung his head and muttered "My apologies, Commander, Councilor," then beat the sort of retreat that usually meant the person was trying not to run. 

As soon as he was out of earshot Shepard burst out laughing. Garrus chuckled along with her. "Thank you," Shepard said, putting a hand on his arm. Garrus glanced down at her hand, so strangely white and soft against his plates, but didn't mention it. 

"No problem," he said instead. "I've got your back." 

"Unlike you two!" Shepard accused as Jack and Ashley approached. The women were both grinning ear to ear. Neither had changed a bit in the past decades, even though Jack was pushing fifty and Ash was well into hers. Miracles of longevity medicine, Shepard thought. When you had a couple hundred years to live, suddenly fifty was the new thirty. Jack had grown her hair out, though she still kept the sides shaved, and Ash had acquired a wicked crescent scar beside her right eye, but to Shepard they looked the same as the day she'd met them. 

"You looked like you had it under control," Jack said. She clapped Garrus on the back. "Besides, you've already got a bodyguard!" Only the shift of Garrus's arm under her hand reminded Shepard she had left it there. She pulled her hand off him like he was suddenly a hundred degrees warmer. 

"Yeah Shep, we figured we'd just watch the fun," Ashley quipped. 

Shepard snorted. "I think you should watch the fun your husband is having, Williams," she said, nodding over Ash's shoulder. James had just hove into view with his arm around a giggling asari. Ash saw him and her expression darkened. 

"Don't worry," she said, "it's all part of the game." Then she was off to haul her errant man away. Shepard shook her head and picked up her conversation with Jack and Garrus. 

Shepard had noticed years ago that if she stayed in one place eventually everyone she wanted to speak with would gravitate to her. Granted, then they would spin out and away again, but if she stood still long enough the world would come to her. Through the evening Javik, Liara, Tali, Grunt, Zaeed... They all came and went, allowing Shepard to be social without moving too much. Garrus though, Garrus stayed exactly where he was. The two of them commented on the pretentious art folk that Hannah had to cater to, the very stark way that old soldiers like Zaeed and Wrex didn't fit in at an art gallery, and the tiny bits of food that alternately made Shepard feel glutinous (for eating too many) and ravenous (because it still wasn't enough). Like all their lunches at the Citadel, she enjoyed it. When Liara invited the crew back to her and Javik's apartment for drinks after the show Garrus looked the question at Shepard. 

"Of course, you idiot," she muttered, offended that he'd think Liara meant everyone but him. "Get us a cab?" His mandibles flared in that Garrus smirk and she figured she had drank more than she thought when her stomach tingled. He nodded and pulled up his omnitool. 

"Hold that cab, Garrus?" She said a minute later. Her purple headed daughter was bouncing her way through the crowd, clearly floating on the high of success. It was also the first Jane had seen of Hannah tonight, as busy as she'd been. 

"Mumsy!" Hannah crowed, careening into Jane. Only Garrus's hand on her back stopped the two of them from falling over. She would thank him later. 

"And Councilor Vakarian!" Hannah shouted. She launched onto Garrus too. Shepard laughed. Talk about a deer in the headlights. Garrus's arms were sort of splayed out like he didn't know what to do with them and he was blinking at Shepard in rapid succession. Thankfully Hannah released him quickly. 

"Just Garrus is fine," he said. Hannah was barely listening. 

"I sold a painting, Mumsy! The Rannoch one! To a turian art buyer! He even paid more than I was asking for it!" Hannah shouted. Jane and Garrus exchanged a glance over her head. That was one way to apologize, she supposed. 

"Congratulations! That's excellent, Han," Shepard said. Her daughter bounced a couple more times and waved at some friends who were heading out. 

"My friends want to go celebrate," Hannah said. "John's here too, even though Uncle Jacob and Aunt Brynn couldn't come." Hannah's cheeks reddened at that. Jane noticed, and filed the information away. John Taylor was only a couple years older than Hannah, and the two had known each other all their lives. The blush was new though, as was John travelling all the way to Illium for Hannah's sake. 

"Go have a good time, sweet pea," Jane said. Hannah stood on her toes to kiss her mother's cheek. "Thanks Mumsy, you too. I love you," she said, and bounced away again. 

Jane watched her go. John Taylor, who had gotten his father's dark hair and skin but his mother's sharp mind and green eyes, was waiting by the door. He saw Jane looking and waved. Jane waved back and smiled when John saw Hannah and all his attention shifted to her. He held the door for her and his free hand touched her lower back as she went through. Well. She could do a hell of a lot worse, Shepard thought, though she was now dying to call Brynn Taylor. 

She barely registered Garrus beside her until he whistled. "That girl of yours is like a hurricane, Shepard. I feel old." 

"Me too, Garrus, me too." Most of the crew had already left for Liara's, so Garrus and Shepard headed for the door. Garrus held the door for her and his hand touched her lower back as she went through.


	11. The Art of Differentiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tali says some things, Zaeed and Jack become inebriated, and ladies eat ice cream.

The Reaper War had been hell. More hell than anyone deserved, really. But as Shepard looked around at her friends, all sitting around Liara and Javik's living room coffee table, she was reminded that it had been worth it. There were people missing, of course, but most of them were here and for Jane, that was what mattered. 

She was sitting on Liara's big couch, sandwiched between Tali and Bakara. Tali wasn't wearing her faceplate, which was a testament to just how far the quarians had come. Jane still couldn't get over seeing her without it. Tali was drop dead gorgeous, what with her glowing eyes and faintly grey skin and plethora of dark hair. She was showing her pictures of the new state building in Rannonch's capital, a building she had helped design. The pictures were peppered with shots of her family and her pets and every other bit of minutiae that Tali deemed important, and she gave Shepard details about every last one of them. Bakara had stopped pretending to be interested a while ago. Shepard didn't mind. Back on the Normandy, she had made it a priority of her command to speak to her crew and take an interest in their lives. She was very good at caring about the people under her command, and now that skill came in handy. 

Across the room, Zaeed and Liara we're discussing the T'soni-Shepard girls. Shepard had never figured Zaeed for a family man, and he wasn't really. But he loved the girls and he was their most ferocious defender. Sometimes Shepard thought he might be more proud of them than she was. Zaeed had been there for both girls' births, for reasons he hadn't cared to explain but seemed to link to his dead wife and unborn baby, and he had yet to miss a birthday or milestone. He and Hannah had been nearly inseparable when she was younger. 

Beside them, Ashley, James and Jack were arguing with Javik and Steve Cortez over something or other. She couldn't quite make it out, but they were all happy. Except Javik. He was glowering, as usual. And off to Jane's right sat Garrus, Wrex, and Grunt, talking politics. They looked peaceful enough, so Jane left them to it. It was good to see Garrus back in the crew, like finding a puzzle piece she'd given up on looking for. 

"He hasn't stopped looking at you, you know," Tali muttered. Shepard blinked. She must have spaced out on Tali's picture extravaganza. It took her a second to piece together what the quarian was implying though. 

"Who? Garrus? Don't be ridiculous," she scoffed. Tali elbowed her. 

"Bosh'tet! You must have noticed," she said. 

Jane snuck a sideways glance at Garrus and sure enough he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. She didn't know what to make of that. She looked away, suddenly flustered. 

"There! You saw! Now tell me, are you two...?" Tali hung the question in the air and waited. Jane was so floored she couldn't even think of how to respond. Tali was implying that Garrus... No, that couldn't be right. They had only just started to work things out, he couldn't be attracted to her. Have feelings for her. 

"No! No, not at all. I don't even... He's never - why are you laughing?" 

"Because you're flustered! You've faced down Reapers and rachni and geth but the thought of Garrus making eyes at you gets you flustered. It's funny," she insisted. Now it was Shepard's turn to elbow her. 

"Bullshit! He is not making eyes at me," she whispered. She felt like a schoolgirl, talking about a boy at a party. She didn't like the feeling. 

"Oh Shepard. Of course he is! It's Garrus! He's always making eyes at you!" Tali said and rolled her eyes. Again her words pushed Jane into shock. Tali must have noticed that her words had a bit more of an effect than she had meant because she began to look worried. 

"You never... Oh keelah you never knew." 

When Shepard spoke her voice was like ice. "Knew what?" 

They were attracting attention now, which was not what either of them wanted. 

"After the party, alright?" Tali whispered. Shepard took a breath. Tali was also staying at the apartment. There would be time to corner her later, when they didn't have an audience that included their subject matter. So she nodded, against every instinct she had. And then she got up to get another beer. If she was going to have to wait this out she wanted to do it less sober than she was. 

Unfortunately and as usual, there was no peace for Jane. Garrus followed her into the kitchen, apparently intent on talking. 

"Guess who just did your job for you," he boasted. She could see that he had been drinking by the way his mandibles flared and his easy lean on the counter. It was almost the cocky, confident Garrus she remembered. It also made her breath hitch a little, which immediately soured her mood. 

"How do you figure?" She asked, rummaging through Liara's fridge to find some alcohol. She held up a can of something turian and boozy and threw it to Garrus when he nodded. 

"Well I just convinced Wrex to hold the conference on Rannoch, which should work as neutral ground," he said. Shepard wished she had found something stronger than beer to drink. 

"Rannoch? Neutral? How do you figure?" She was repeating herself and she didn't care. Nothing Garrus was saying was improving her temper. 

"Because the quarians have no interest in expanding right now - limited immunity and all - and they have no historical problems with the krogan. Plus the quarians want a seat on the council, so this will show that they can handle galactic issues. But don't tell anyone about the council thing, I'm not supposed to say anything," he said. Shepard's brain hurt. She just did not want to deal with Garrus, the krogan, or even herself right now. 

"That's great, Garrus," she said, hoping she didn't sound as tired as she felt. Garrus's frown told her exactly how she was coming across. 

"I'm sorry, Wrex and I were just talking and it came up." 

Liara seriously needed to invest in harder alcohols. Jane took a gulp of her beer. "Nothing to be sorry for. I'm just grumpy," she said, half hoping it would prompt him to go back to the others. Typical Garrus though, it did not. Jane had conveniently forgotten that Garrus was just about as stubborn as she was. 

"What's up?" He asked. 

"Nothing," she said, "that's the problem." She hated not knowing. 

"Well, anything you can do about it right now?" 

"No," she admitted. 

Garrus handed her another drink - hers was mysteriously empty - got one more for himself, and gestured at the group in the living room. "Then come and enjoy the party. You were looking forward to it, remember?" She had mentioned it more than a few times during their lunches. Jane wasn't sure how she felt about mature, reasonable Garrus. Then again, in her current state she wasn't sure how she felt about any Garrus, so there was that. Jane was beginning to feel something of a mess: she didn't know what was going on or why and she didn't like it. She didn't even know who to direct her wrath at. 

"You go on," she said. Thankfully he didn't press the issue. Jane's head felt ready to explode. Between Garrus inadvertently stepping on her toes, Tali implying romantic involvement when Shepard didn't even know if she trusted Garrus anymore, and the plethora of pressures of her job, she didn't know if she was coming or going. Jane Shepard did not like confusion, and the only thing this situation did was make her itch for a target when there wasn't one. 

So by the time the last of the guests who weren't staying at Liara and Javik's house had left - most of them well liquored and rowdy - Jane was ready to explode. When the door closed on Jack and Zaeed, who were mostly supporting each other at this point, Shepard turned on Tali. The quarian was collecting bottles in the living room with Liara, helping to tidy up. 

"Okay, what the actual fuck?" Shepard burst out. Tali froze. Then she set her bottles down and started wringing her hands, the absolutely quintessential sign that she had done something she wasn't proud of. Javik, James, and Ash all stopped what they were doing. Liara didn't, which was actually a bit annoying. It wasn't like Shepard got this angry every day. Liara shouldn't be used to this. 

"I'm so sorry Shepard I thought you knew. I didn't mean to upset you," Tali said. 

"You thought I knew what?" She was basically growling. Tali's face grew ever more ashy. 

"Well... We didn't say anything because he stopped talking about you and we thought it was best to leave it alone but..." She struggled to find the words, but Shepard was too out of patience to wait her out this time. 

"I swear Tali if you don't spit it out right now-"

"Garrus was in love with you. On the Normandy. Everyone knew." 

Jane's weak knee was about to go. She groped for a stool and managed to find a perch just before her knee let her down. 

"You're full of shit," she said. Across the room, Liara had frozen. She whispered "I knew it," and came over to stand beside Jane in a show of support. 

"Garrus explained why he left, and he didn't mention that," Shepard said. 

James and Javik quietly left the room. Ash stayed exactly where she was. Tali's hand wringing sped up a notch. 

"I don't know why he didn't say anything but it was really clear to all of us." 

"Well it wasn't clear to me!" Shepard shouted. "And why didn't any of you say anything?" 

"Skipper, we thought you knew. Garrus never made a move and he was always professional. You were with Liara from the get go, so everyone knew where you stood. We didn't think we needed to say anything," Ash explained. 

It was logical, as far as logic went in this case, but Jane was pretty done being rational about the whole damn situation. "So what about when he left? None of you thought hey I wonder if we should let Shepard in on why her best damn friend just took off?" 

"Hey!" Ash stood up, a frown furrowing her face. "You told us you didn't want to talk about it! It's not like most of us saw a lot of him either!" 

Shepard heard her, but wasn't finished being angry. She rounded on Liara. "And you just said you knew it? I can understand the rest of them not getting involved but why didn't you say anything?" 

Liara raised her eyebrows and Shepard automatically lowered her voice. When Liara was satisfied that Jane wasn't going to snap at her again she said, "I suspected. But he didn't speak to me either, dear, so I could never confirm. If you're wondering why I didn't share my suspicions with you... You forget. I was there after the Crucible. I had more than enough to deal with trying to help you recover to worry about Garrus Vakarian's cowardice." 

And for perhaps the first time, Jane saw just how angry Liara was. Her former spouse had said she and Garrus talked when he became Councilor, but Shepard supposed she had never said she forgave him. At her words, some of Shepard's anger dissipated. The others saw it and relaxed. 

"I'm sorry," Jane said. "I know it's not your faults. I just wish..." She couldn't finish. She felt hopelessly lost, like she was adrift and had nothing to hold on to. Shepard wasn't the type to get bogged down in despair; she always had a goal to work towards. After the war it was recovering and then the GP, and after that began it was raising her children well. Now, she was just... Lost. 

"I know," Liara said, patting her shoulder, "I wish too." 

"I'm sorry I never told you," Tali said, "You're right, I should have." 

"Yeah, you should have. You all should have. But I'm not going to lose all of you over Garrus's mistake, so let's just... Let it go, I guess," she said. It was a wholly unsatisfactory ending, since she was still angry and she didn't want to forgive her friends. She had thought they were better than avoiding conversations because they were difficult. If anything, she was disappointed in them, but she had been a diplomat for close to three decades now and she really didn't want to get in a protracted standoff with her crew over past mistakes, so letting it go became the only option left, she supposed. Garrus, on the other hand... 

"What will you do now?" Ash asked. Shepard shrugged. All three women frowned. Clearly that was not a satisfactory response. 

"I think you should talk to him," Ash said. 

Shepard sighed. "Yeah, I should..." Stressing the 'should' to imply that she wouldn't. 

Their frowns deepened. If she hadn't been so wrapped up in her own head it might have been comical. Liara shifted around until she was standing in front of Jane's stool and got right in her face. 

"Jane Shepard I will not go through another twenty years of feuding between you two. I saw you tonight at the gallery. You were happy, and you were happy because of him. You of all people should know that if you get an opportunity to be happy in this universe you take it. You don't let petty grudges turn you into a bitter old hag!" She lectured. Jane flashed through several emotions: anger at Liara for telling her what to do, chagrin at implying that she would be petty about the whole thing, awe that Liara would tell her to go for Garrus even though she was still angry at him herself... Eventually she settled on amusement. 

"Bitter old hag, hey?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. Liara blinked then started to laugh. Shepard joined her. Even Tali and Ashley started to chuckle after a moment of confusion. 

When they had settled down Liara went to her freezer. Her apartment was open concept, like Shepard's, but more sprawling. Her kitchen was clearly visible from the living room so when she pulled a carton of ice cream out of her freezer and went for the spoons the others were on it in a second. She even had dextro chocolate for Tali. The women moved into the kitchen and took seats around Liara's table. She slid them each a spoon and set the ice cream down. 

"I apologize for the insult, Jane, but at least it snapped you out of it. I watched you deal with all those people who got in your way during the war and you never held grudges. I would hate to see you start now," Liara said. 

"I know. I have no idea what to say to him, though," Shepard replied. 

"Maybe start with 'Hey asshole,'" Ash suggested, "it seems to work on James." 

They all chortled at that. "When Kal is being particularly stubborn I call him a Bosh'tet. Then he calls me a Bosh'tet and then we have angry sex. You could try that," Tali said. 

The others blinked at her. "What?" She asked. 

"I can't even picture you having angry sex," Ash said. 

"Besides, I'm not having sex with Garrus," Shepard pointed out. "I don't even know if I want to." To which everyone snorted but no one said a damn thing, mostly due to her glares. Jane decided the best course of action was to shift the focus off herself.

"So speaking of having sex... Any mind melding going on between you and our favorite Prothean?" She asked Liara. The asari blushed, a purple blue staining her cheeks.

"You are!" Tali stated, absolutely thrilled. 

"I didn't say that..." 

"You didn't need to! I know that look!" 

"Please tell us what that's like?" Ash asked. Her face held an expression of half grossed out half awed interest. 

Liara sighed. "If I tell you can we never speak of it again?" 

"Sure, sure. Just one thing- is it green?" Ash asked.


	12. The Art of Arbitration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Liara puts her foot down, Garrus puts both feet down, the crew put their feet up, and Shepard doesn't want to put either foot down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys! You guys are so cool! Seriously, the response to this story has been so overwhelmingly positive and I am so glad you're all enjoying it. The reviews and kudos make my day, so thank you thank you thank you and I hope you keep enjoying it. 
> 
> -AO

Garrus woke up in his hotel room to the sound of his omnitool pinging. This wasn't unusual, it was usually full of messages by now and he had deliberately avoided looking at it yesterday, but this morning it was sounding off with a high pitched, incessant squeal. He rolled over and flicked his lamp on, then called up his tool. Liara's face burst into view. She had hacked his omnitool and was apparently intent on driving him insane by beeping. 

"You are a monumental ass, Garrus Vakarian," she said by way of greeting. Garrus fully contemplated shutting his tool right back off again. But no, he was facing his problems now. 

"What did I do?" He asked, sleep still heavy on his voice. It had been a late night and Liara was up ridiculously early. 

"You lied to Jane when you explained your mysterious absence of the last twenty four years." 

That woke him up. "I did not," he said. He sat up in bed, scooting into a more comfortable position. 

"A lie by omission, at least," she said, "since you didn't tell her you left because you loved her and couldn't have her." 

Oh spirits. "How did you...?" 

"A word of advice from the Shadow Broker, Garrus: it's not a secret if everybody knows!" Garrus couldn't remember ever seeing Liara look so angry. He tried to think of a way to explain himself, but he had run out of excuses. 

"Do you have any idea how long it took me to put her back together again?" Liara asked when the silence had stretched on a moment longer than it should have. Her words were startling because it wasn't the tactic he had expected her to take. 

"I always suspected you had feelings for Jane, but since you never pursued her and you never spoke of it I assumed you would behave professionally, and you did. I wasn't surprised that you stayed at the hospital with her, and when you left I knew you weren't coming back. It was all over your face. But I expected you would call, or write, or pretend to care in some capacity or other. I was perhaps the most shocked that I was wrong. I don't often misjudge a person's character so completely." She paused and that pit in Garrus's stomach grew until it threatened to swallow him whole. 

"Did you know that when she woke up, you were the first person she asked for? She saw me, of course, and then immediately looked for you. I had to explain why you weren't there, and every day when she would ask if I had heard from you I had to explain that I hadn't. I couldn't bring myself to tell her it was because you valued her friendship so little that you would throw it away like a spoiled child because you didn't get what you wanted." Liara's lips curled back in disgust. Garrus had never felt so small. He made no move to try to defend himself. 

"But she never gave up on you," Liara said. The small, sad smile she wore was for Jane, not him. "I think that's why she was so willing to forgive you when you showed up at the Citadel. She never gave up on you. I did." 

"Liara..." 

"No," she held up a hand, "I am asari. We have a very long time to hold grudges. I will forgive you when you prove yourself to be the Garrus I remember, the honourable, good man who would follow his friends into hell. Something changed in you that day at the hospital and frankly, I don't know you anymore." 

She sat back and he knew he had to try. "Liara I do value our friendship," he said. She snorted. "You have an odd way of showing it." 

"Look, I'm sorry. I was a coward, and I wish I could go back and change things. But I can't. So do you think we can get past this or not?" He couldn't say why he was putting down the ultimatum now, just that he kept apologizing and it kept not being good enough and he had to wonder if anything would be. 

"I think you have a long way to go before Jane forgives you," Liara said. 

"I didn't mean Jane," he said. She blinked like she was surprised that he was afraid of losing her again. 

"I... I want to, but it is difficult. You must understand, you were my friend too. You stayed with me for two months while Jane was in a coma on Earth, and then when I needed you most you disappeared. I had no one, Garrus. I was trying to help Jane recover and the others all had lives and I had no help. You let me down." Those were the words he feared the most. 

"I get it," he said. He wouldn't force her to forgive him. "If you... If you ever change your mind about me..." 

Her face shifted to an expression of alarm. "No, no, what I meant to say was that I would try, but we have a lot of baggage to overcome," she said. 

He sighed in relief but stayed quiet, afraid of jeopardizing this little bit of hope. 

"A lot of that baggage is Jane," Liara said. "Now that she knows how you felt about her, she's going to try to avoid you." 

"Why?" That was alarming. 

"Because that's what she does. It confuses her and when she doesn't understand something she likes to sit back and think about it. Which is usually fine, but not in your case. If you wait for her to come to you you'll be waiting a very long time." Liara smiled with the memory of experience. 

"Why are you helping me?" Garrus asked. Liara blinked slowly and the smile she gave him was equal parts sad and pitying. 

"Because I love Jane. We were good together, for a while, and then we weren't. But she is still the mother of my children and my friend, and of all the people in the galaxy you are the one she wants. No, don't look at me like you're going to argue, I know her. She may not realize it yet but she does. And I love her and I want her to be happy. So you damn well better make her happy," she said. 

Garrus felt that hopeless pit well up in his stomach again. He didn't know how to make people happy. Caeli had been good at that, making others happy, before she died. He never quite figured it out. The only person he could make happy was his son, Tharius, and even that was getting tenuous as the boy got older. 

"I don't..." He started. 

Liara cut him off. "No Garrus, you are out of excuses. You have a choice to make: either you will suck it up and deal with your mistakes-" damn but she sounded like Shepard then "- or you run away and regret it. So I have one question for you. Do you still love her?" 

Well but wasn't that a loaded gun waiting for him to step into its line of fire. It had taken Garrus years to come to grips with the guilt he felt over loving Shepard even though he was with his wife. He had loved Caeli, there was no doubt about that. She was ferocious and sweet and dedicated and she knew him inside out. He couldn't help but love her. But he had never quite gotten over Shepard. Did he love her now, though? 

The Shepard he had met on the Citadel some weeks ago wasn't the Shepard he remembered. She hadn't done a complete 180, of course; she was too strong willed for that, but she had changed. She was more thoughtful, more tactical, more grounded. He had the feeling that if she needed to uproot and jet around on a warship now she would be upset to leave the Citadel. She was calmer and she seemed happier. So did he love her now? Liara was still waiting for an answer. 

"Yeah, I do." He knew when he said it that it was true. 

"Then pursue her. When she yells at you to go away because you're too confusing to deal with you go back. When she ignores you you go back. When she threatens to shoot you you stand your ground. I hope you know this won't be easy," Liara said. Garrus grinned. 

"Shepard never is," he said. 

"No, she isn't. But she is worth it." 

He wished they were still close enough that he could ask what happened. When he had been part of the crew Liara and Shepard had been so in love it was almost sickening. He and everyone else had thought they would last. But they seemed amicable enough, so maybe he should just let sleeping dogs lie. Another Shepardism, he thought. 

"I won't let you down," Garrus said. He knew it was a futile reassurance, since the only thing Liara would believe now was action, and for the first time since he had stood in Shepard's doorway and joked about Wrex's kids he thought maybe he was up to the job. 

Liara didn't respond to his bold statement, instead she hung up. Garrus was left sitting in his hotel bed in the light of the little lamp, staring at his omnitool. He took a deep breath and opened his messenger. 

To: Shepard-Commander, Admiral.Zorah, Dr.T'soni, UrdnotChief, WilliamsA  
From: G.Vakarian  
Subject: Brunch with the Original Crew?   
Meet up on the trades floor near Sirta at 11?  
-G

He sent the message and got up to get ready for the day. He was hoping that inviting the other crew members from the SR1 would draw Shepard out, but he wasn't sure. Either way it would be good to catch up with all of them again. He needn't have worried though, the messages started coming in almost immediately. 

To: G.Vakarian  
From: Dr.T'soni  
Re: Brunch with the Original Crew?  
I see what you're doing. I'll make sure she comes. 

She didn't sign off, just left the message as it was. 

To G.Vakarian  
From: UrdnotChief  
Re: Brunch with the Original Crew?   
Garrus,   
You buying?   
-Wrex

Garrus shrugged. Why not? He sent an affirmative to Wrex and was rewarded with the message "I'll be there." A few minutes later Ash and Tali checked in, after he assumed Liara had told them. The only person notably silent was Shepard, but he trusted Liara. For whatever reason, she was trying to help. Though Garrus knew her efforts were much more for Shepard than for him it was still nice to know someone else was on board. 

*

Garrus suspected it would take some reflection and hard analysis to figure out if that brunch was a success. They had stayed at the restaurant for three hours, reminiscing about the good old days on board the Normandy and catching up on each others' lives. Liara had managed to drag Shepard along, though the commander clearly wasn't happy about it, and she had even managed to seat Shepard beside Garrus. Garrus, for his part, had put in a valiant effort and made her laugh. Twice. For the studious way she avoided looking at him unless absolutely necessary he figured two chuckles wasn't bad. 

He had also played his odds and casually brought up the krogan conference about halfway through the meal. Despite Shepard's glares - the project was supposed to be kept quiet, after all - the crew were as helpful as he had hoped. With Tali there to speak for Rannoch, Shepard for the GP, Wrex for the krogans, and Garrus for the council it was actually very useful. Liara had all sorts of information that augmented their plans, and Ash was able to give a galaxy-wide perspective from her work as a Spectre. By the end of lunch, the conference was tentatively planned and Shepard was leaned back in her chair like a proud mother. 

After Garrus had paid and they were leaving he had cornered Shepard. 

"Are you taking the shuttle back today?" He asked, trying to keep his tone light. Shepard did her best to avoid eye contact. 

"No, Arkik and I are staying a couple days to hang out with the family," she said. 

That was a disappointment, but Liara's words echoed in his head and he kept at it. "That will be nice. Let me know when you're back on the Citadel and we can get lunch?" He thought for sure she would have an excuse. She looked like she was trying to think of one, green eyes darting left and right and nose wrinkled. 

"Alright," she said finally. He left it at that, thinking it best not to push his luck. It was something, at least, though he suspected it wasn't going to be that easy.


	13. The Art of Persistence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Garrus paces, Shepard is confused, and hands are held.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo internets! Sorry it's taken me so long to update this, I've just finished moving. This is my second move in a month and hopefully the last move for a good long while. Hopefully now that I'm all settled in the new place updates will be quicker and steady, but you never know what the world is going to chuck your way! Anyways, I am not super thrilled with this chapter, but this is the third rewrite and it is... satisfactory. Let me know what you think!

He had been standing in front of her door for ten minutes and he had yet to push the buzzer. She hadn’t been watching him all that time, of course, but he had been here when she arrived and that had been at least a couple minutes ago now. It had been a week since Garrus had seen Shepard on Illium and true to form she had been avoiding him. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him; on the contrary she had actually missed their lunches and his dry, awkward wit, but she just had a lot of thoughts to sort through and that was easier when he wasn’t right there, confusing her. He had kept messaging and calling her though, apparently deciding that now was the time to not give up and go away and now he was at her door. 

A couple of paces back and forth later and Garrus worked up the courage to knock on her door. When it became obvious that she wasn’t home he touched the icon for vid-mail and Shepard nearly gave away her position. 

“Shepard. I… Uh… I haven’t seen you in a while and I was hoping we could talk. So… Call me. Ok? I mean, if you want. But hopefully you want to. Damn. I’m going to go now. Alright.” He ended the vid and turned to leave. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Shepard and she was so glad she had spent a couple dozen years with turians so that she could be certain that the expression on his face was shock and embarrassment. She grinned. 

“That was the most awkward vid mail I’ve gotten in a long time, Councilor,” she teased. He brightened up a bit and she felt her grin widen. Unfortunately then the thought hit her that here she was trying to get away from him so she could think and the second he turned up she stood around grinning like an idiot. She didn’t like that just his presence could do that to her. 

Garrus was saying something and she hadn’t really been paying attention. “Well I do specialize in awkward,” he said. Shepard’s smile faded and he tensed. She walked past him to key in the code for her door. 

“Sorry I haven’t called you back,” she said. Apparently this was not discouraging to him, since he made as if to follow her into her apartment.

“It’s alright,” he said. 

She stopped in the doorway. “I’ll call you tomorrow and we can do lunch?” She asked. He stood and studied her for a moment. Shepard wished she was the type of person who squirmed, because his gaze made her want to do just that. 

“No you won’t,” he blurted. 

She wasn’t surprised. He had to know the expression on her face by now, the one she reserved for stunningly boring diplomats and people she wished she didn’t have to deal with. So she sighed and said, “No, I won’t.” She let the door hydraulics kick in. Maybe it was better this way. Maybe Liara had been wrong and they weren’t meant to be friends an-

Garrus stuck his hand in the way of the door closing, even though he must have been aware that she could override the fail safe if she wanted to. When she didn’t force him out he crowded her into her apartment, backing her up until he was inside and the door slid shut behind him. 

“Shepard, we need to talk. Please,” he said. There was a hit of desperation in his voice that she hadn’t expected. A sudden wave of resentment swept over her. Why was it bothering him so much that she didn’t want to talk to him? He had left once and that hadn’t seemed to bother him, why was it such an issue when she wanted to be alone for a couple of weeks? Her face soured and she hurled words at him. 

“There’s nothing to talk about. You left once, can’t you just do it again?” If she was being honest those words were meant to hurt. They accomplished their goal and Garrus’s shoulders slumped. But then they came right back up. 

“No. I’m not just going to leave again. I’m never going to leave again, so you better either shoot me or get used to talking it out with me because I’m not going anywhere,” he said. Jane straightened up and braced for a fight. She was still swimming in resentment and she was just plain tired. She just wanted things to be easy with him, like they had started to be before she found out he had feelings for her. Now things couldn’t be easy, and she couldn’t find a way out. So she did what she was best at, she fought. 

“Garrus, I don’t know what you think is going to happen here but I can tell you what is: you’re going to walk out of here or you’re going to need someone to carry you,” she said. She took a half step into his space, considered letting her biotics blue her fists, and decided against it. Garrus knew what she could do. He knew what she was capable of. That should be threat enough. He took a step into her space, though, and a little thread of panic wove into the bitterness. 

“Better call the hospital then,” he said, his nose about six inches away from her. 

She broke their staring contest first by thumping a fist onto his chest. “Now you stick around, now!” She cried.All that bitterness had to come out sometime, and she couldn’t be that resentful of him and that attracted to him at the same time. One of those things had to give. “Where were you back then, Garrus? Where were you? I thought we could figure it out when you came back, forgive and move on, and then I find out you lied about the whole fucking thing! I needed you and you ran like a self-absorbed, mopy asshole!” Most sentences were punctuated by a fist rapping on his carapace. But she could see that he was getting more and more upset the longer she went on. 

“Where was I when you needed me? I was at your back! With Saren, with the Collectors, with the Reapers! I never doubted you, not for a second, and then when I picked you out of the ashes I realized that I had set my whole damn life on hold for a human who never looked at me twice! So what I was supposed to do, Shepard? Keep mooning after you and hope you would get the hint? I’ll admit, I shouldn’t have stayed away for so long but come on, Jane.” He was panting a bit. Shepard’s eyes got wide about halfway through his rant and stayed that way through the rest of it. She was stunned but recovered quickly. She ignored the parts where he had admitted to having feelings and the part where he had called her Jane - despite the little thrill that caused - and went back on the offensive. 

“Sorry to ask you to put down your fucking paperwork at C-Sec to hunt the goddamn Reapers, but I didn’t hear you complaining back then!” She yelled. She tried to back away from him to get some distance to really get fired up but he grabbed her wrists. 

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” he hissed. 

“What did you mean then?” She asked. “If you were so damn unhappy why did you keep coming back?” 

“Same reason I came back this time. For you.” His mandibles flared like he was expecting her to blast him with her biotics or something. Shepard’s mouth hung open. She had no idea what to say to him. But Garrus forged on, saving her the trouble of coming up with a reply. 

“And I don’t like making the same mistake twice, so I’m not going anywhere. I should have said something twenty years ago but I kept putting it off because it was never the right time - probably still isn’t - but I don’t plan on letting you go this time. So unless you say something to stop me right now, I’m going to pursue you. Okay?” At some point Garrus’s thumbs started stroking over the backs of her hands and something clicked in Jane. 

She couldn’t say what made her do it, just that she had been alone for a few years now and when Garrus had come back it had felt like finding a missing puzzle piece. Liara, as usual, was right. She should at least try being happy. So she didn’t say anything, and when the realization dawned on Garrus’s face it was almost comical. She smirked at him. 

“Okay,” he breathed. 

“Alright,” she said. She was grinning now and he returned it. 

Although - “I don’t actually know what to do now,” Garrus admitted. 

Shepard tried her best to hold in a laugh. “Didn’t think you’d get this far?” She guessed. 

“Nope. I thought you’d throw me out the door the second I got here.” She couldn’t quite contain that chuckle. 

“So… what now?” He asked. He was still holding her hands. She didn’t mind though; and by the way his eyes darkened and his body shifted towards her neither did he. But neither of them were quite ready for that, so Shepard decided to divert them. 

“Now,” she said, “We go for lunch.”


	14. The Art of Assistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Arkik is overworked, Shepard yells, and Garrus frowns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay again :( The world is hectic right now and this is the part of the story that I'm not entirely thrilled with. Anyways, suggestions and comments are always appreciated! Thanks for hanging in there!

"Arkik!" Even her bellow was a little less harrowing than usual. Arkik stuck his head around the partition wall to Shepard's office and saw the Commander standing in her customary pose in front of her scrolling orange holographic info wall. She looked more relaxed than usual today though; her hands not clenched on her hips and her shoulders loose. 

Jane Shepard happy was a disconcerting sight, if he did say so himself. Arkik was used to a specific type of Jane: the serious, grumpy Commander who strong-armed and wheedled everyone else in the galaxy into doing what she wanted. He wasn't used to a smiling, relaxed Jane who took lunch breaks and went home most nights. It wasn't that he wasn't happy for her, he was, but the change was drastic enough that he had to reevaluate her assumed reactions. 

"Yes?" He asked. She didn't bother turning. 

"Why do we have three Construction groups deployed to Dekuuna and none to Feros? I thought the colonists out there asked for help with their new soletta array?" 

Arkik scanned the wall. "I don't know," he admitted. "You want a Construction team to deploy to Feros?" 

"Well confirm with the colonists that they need us. When Shiala pinged me she said they were having trouble getting help from the Alliance," she said. He left, part of his mind focusing on composing a message to Shiala of Zhu's Hope and the rest contemplating the nuances of working with Happy Shepard. 

He had to delegate tasks that she would usually deal with while she was away on lunch, for example. The turian Councilor showed up nearly every day to eat with Shepard, and on days when he didn't come to her she went to him. She also didn't like to be disturbed during her lunches anymore, which meant Arkik had to postpone or handle anything that came up. He was more than capable of doing so, it just meant an adjustment. 

It also meant adjusting to the new Councilor. Arkik had liked Sparatus, he was straightforward and his motives were clear. He intended to advance his political career, advance turian interests, and maintain peace in the galaxy, in that order. The new Councillor wasn't so obvious. Besides his clear desire for Shepard, Vakarian seemed to want galactic peace and cooperation over everything else, except when he remembered that he was there on behalf of the turians or he got aggravated by the lack of people he could feasibly shoot. Arkik wasn't sure about him and he suspected it was because Vakarian wasn't sure of himself. Nevertheless, he was an ally of the GP, which meant he served Arkik's mandate, and he was a friend of Arkik's commander. 

Speaking of which - Arkik opened a new window on his terminal and sent a video ping to a Peacekeeper on the fourth floor. The fourth floor didn’t actually exist in the minds of most people, including most of the Peacekeepers. There were select few upper-level GP officials who knew about the fourth floor, and Arkik was privileged enough to be one of them. As far as the rest of the galaxy was concerned the fourth floor of the GP was actually owned by the company that resided in the office suites above them and used for storage. The owner of said company had happily agreed to maintain that rumor in exchange for the security of operating next to GP headquarters. A moment after Arkik pinged the ‘keeper he was trying to reach picked up. 

The space behind her head was carefully blank wall that gave no indication of where she was, and the human he had sought out was just as carefully nondescript. She had mousey brown hair cut in a short bob that was common across the galaxy and almost no distinguishing features - not that the salarian was excellent at distinguishing humans anyways - except for a certain tightness around her eyes. She had that sort of look that said that she would make a terrifying enemy. 

“Arkik, something I can do for you?” She asked. 

“Good morning, Morse,” Arkik said, “Yes, I need to put in a work order.” He was one of eleven people in the galaxy who knew this woman’s real name, and he had been sworn to absolute secrecy on her identity and the identities of everyone else who called floor four home. Morse was, of course, her code name. She was also one of the very few people Arkik always enjoyed speaking with. 

“For who?” She asked. She was typing, her eyes flicking off to one side of his vid screen. 

“Councillor Garrus Vakarian.” 

She didn’t seem surprised. “Finally. I’m surprised you didn’t ask a month ago,” she said. 

Arkik let a little bit of a smile slip. “Had other things going on. But apparently now it’s serious, so…” 

“He gets the Silent treatment,” she finished. 

"Yes please." 

"I assume you want all reports forwarded to you?" She asked, typing away. 

"Yes. No copies. No trails," he said. Morse nodded and signed off. 

Arkik turned his attention to other matters. He wasn't tagging Councilor Vakarian to be mean or suspicious, he just needed to keep an eye on him. The Silence would be able to do that without being noticed and then Vakarian would be safe. And Arkik could perform continuous threat analysis. It was a win win. So Arkik added another checkbox to his daily list : read mission reports, flag anomalies; track newly generated missions, tag anomalies; read Silent reports, tag anomalies; track Jane, tag anomalies; execute orders. 

Speaking of which - "Arkik! We need to randomize the Eezo pick up schedule off Watson. Pirates have hit them on their last three trips." - Shepard was almost supernaturally good at spotting anomalies. It was one of the most fascinating things about her. She could stand at her glowing wall and pick out little trends that amounted to large problems with an ease he couldn't hope to match. He looked up the reports - he had passed over them because the attacks fell within the allowable range for that sector and that class of Supply vessel - and there was the pattern, staring him straight in the face. He cursed but got on the comm to floor three, where the Construction, Supply, Transport, and Civilian overseers worked. 

"Good morning Hia," he said to the asari who picked up. "We have a small problem with the Watson Eezo route." 

And so their day went, with Shepard calling out questions or orders and Arkik executing them as quickly as possible. Sometimes the positions were reversed when Arkik had some tidbit that the Commander didn't, and then he made recommendations and mostly she accepted them with the little smile that said she was impressed and grateful. She had offered him promotion about four times since he had started working for her, and that little smile was always why he said no. From here, as her assistant, he got a bird's eye view of the Galactic Peacekeepers. All eight departments - Construction, Civilian, Supply, Transport, Silence, Strategy, Admin and Recon - were all open to him and he could see patterns in the galaxy that most people never knew existed. No, Arkik considered his acceptance of the offer to assist Shepard to be his best decision. 

By the end of the day, as usual, he was exhausted but satisfied. When Councilor Vakarian arrived he knew it must be time to go home, which also meant broaching the last subject of the day with Shepard. He braced himself and then stuck his head around her door. 

Vakarian and Shepard were standing in one another's arms, talking quietly. Shepard was laughing. It was a shame he had to ruin it. 

"Ah, Commander?" He asked, trying to get her attention. Shepard and the Councilor moved apart like two teenagers caught by a parent. Arkik chuckled. 

"What can I do for you, Arkik?" She asked. 

"Just a reminder before you go home. We leave for Rannoch in three days and tomorrow morning we need to confer with the Strategy Captains." The Strategy department also covered the GP's security forces, which would be on hand in force during the conference. 

"Right. Then general meeting with all the Captains involved, right?" She asked. She left Vakarian's side to go stare at her wall. 

"Yes," he said. This was one of the larger operations the GP had been involved in that wasn't Reaper clean up. Arkik was both nervous and thrilled. Shepard never flinched. 

"Good." Arkik went to leave but Shepard's voice called him back. 

"Arkik, target basic is happening on Rannoch this year, yes?" He wasn't sure why she was asking, she knew better than anyone the basic training schedule. They had chosen their new recruits months ago, and now it was time to train them. They rotated through GP friendly planets for grounds to hold the training, and by the time a recruit made it through the program they would have experienced several planet types, space combat, and every one of the GP's departments. 

"Yes, it's scheduled to begin two days after the conference but on the other side of the planet. Why?" He asked. For some reason, this information had the turian Councilor frowning. 

"Just wondering. I'd like to be available for the first day of training," Shepard said. Again, Arkik knew this. 

"It's already on our schedule," he said. 

"Thanks." He knew a dismissal when he heard one and went back out to his desk to pack up. There wasn't really any point in going home since he would continue to work there, but Jane got mad when he stayed in the office. Ever since she had started seeing Vakarian she had remembered that sometimes it was nice not to be at work. Arkik agreed, and he was happy for the more relaxed Shepard, but the Rannoch conference was too important for time off now. 

It was also interesting that the Councilor was upset by the news that basic would be held on Rannoch. Arkik sent a quick ping to Morse on floor four to look into connections between Vakarian and basic or Vakarian and Rannoch. He wouldn't have results until the morning, but it was another task out of the way. 

Arkik waved at Shepard and the Councilor when they left, intent on being only a few moments behind them. His terminal never seemed to realize that he wanted to go home, though, and the messages just kept coming in. Arkik sighed and forwarded them to his omnitool. Just another day at the GP


	15. The Art of Interruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shepard has impeccable timing, Ben does too but maybe not in the way our heroes would like, and a krogan bellows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twoooooo more weeks of school. Just two. Then I will be freeeeeeeee to write whenever I want! Thanks so much for sticking with this story; the way I'm planning it there are about 25 to 28 chapters all together, so we're more than halfway, folks! Again, thank you so much for reading and commenting and liking this story, it is the best feeling to know that people are reading this. 
> 
> Love,   
> -AO

They were watching an old movie about the turian military's victory over the krogan during the krogan rebellion and Garrus wasn't interested. He was staring off into the middle distance somewhere to the left of the monitor and drumming his fingers on his thigh, which was driving Shepard mad. She let him go at it for a few more moments and then she'd had enough. 

"Garrus. What's wrong?" She asked. His attention snapped over to her. 

"Hmm?" He hummed. Shepard shivered. That hum got her every time. But she had a job to do now and Shepard didn't leave goals unobtained. 

"What's wrong?" She repeated. 

"Just thinking," he said. She waited, but apparently he was lost in thought again. 

"About?" She prompted again. 

"My son. He's asked to come visit me during the Rannoch conference and I said yes. I haven't seen him since I came to the Citadel because he's been finishing school on Palaven and staying with my sister, so I thought he just wanted to see me. But the GP training starts two days later and Tharius has always been fascinated by your peacekeepers," he explained. She saw what he was getting at immediately. 

"He didn't apply to the GP," she said. Although that name, Tharius, did sound familiar... She had thought so the last time he had mentioned it, nearly a month ago, but hadn't thought much of it. Now though... 

"Are you sure? No Tharius?" He asked. He was leaned forward on the couch now, hands on his knees and his brow plates raised in concern. 

Shepard sighed and opened her omnitool to the list of target recruits. She searched for Tharius and sure enough one name came up. Tharius Marcellan. A wave of relief swept Shepard. 

"I have a Tharius but he's not a Vakarian," she said. 

"Is it Tharius Marcellan?" 

There was that sinking feeling she was so familiar with. It usually came when she had to call the family of one of her people and explain why their relative wasn't coming home but this was familiar. 

"Yeah, it is. Wife's maiden name, isn't if?" She asked, the realization dawning on her like a sledgehammer dawns on a wall. How had she never connected those dots? She had known Garrus's wife's first name but not her last. It wouldn't have been that hard to find out, though, and she should have when the name first came up. 

"Yeah. Caelicia Marcellan. So he applied to the GP under his mother's name so I wouldn't know," Garrus said. He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Shepard you have to release him." 

Shepard was taken aback. "Why?" 

"He's too young for the GP. He's only fourteen." 

"And his application says he'll be fifteen before he finishes basic. According to the agreement we have with the hierarchy that makes him eligible to apply to complete his mandatory service with the GP," she said. 

Garrus stood up fast. "I know your agreement, Shepard, and I know it's Tharius's right but he's my son and I didn't approve of this!" 

"And that is not my fault," she said evenly. He deflated slightly. "But I am sticking to my policies here Garrus. He is old enough to decide where to do his service. He applied to the GP and got in, over thousands of other candidates. I will not renege on his acceptance because you feel left out." 

He deflated further. "I... Why didn't he tell me?" 

Shepard's heart went out to him. She remembered decades ago when she met Garrus how jaded he had been about his own father, and now she could see him thinking his son must feel the same way. She had no idea what his relationship with his son was like, but by the way he had spoken of the boy it was good. Now he must be thinking perhaps he went wrong somewhere along the line and wracking his brain to try to figure out where. She wished she could help. Not a moment later a thought struck Shepard and she scrolled through Tharius's application...there. She clicked the icon and a little holo of a young turian appeared. He was barefaced as young turians were until they were fifteen, which was probably why she hadn't connected him to Garrus. That and she had read through thousands of applications. Anyways, the turian was speaking and she turned up the volume so Garrus couldn't help but listen to it. 

"I want to join the Galactic Peacekeeper Corps because of my father. He was in the Reaper War, before I was born. He fought on Palaven, and Menae, and Tuchanka, and Earth. He used to tell me stories about the war and the stories he was most proud of were the ones where everyone worked together. All the species in the galaxy cooperated and that's why we beat the Reapers. My dad was so proud that the galaxy got along, and he always tried to teach me to cooperate with others. He taught me never to look at other species or other cultures as lesser, just as different. He taught me to value others and the skills they have, and I think those values would be a great asset to the GP. My dad was so impressed by Commander Shepard's work with the GP and he always told me that when I grow up I should help keep the galaxy united. That's why I would like to serve my mandatory years with the GP. Thank you very much." 

Garrus, who had been paying rapt attention, was now quiet. He percolated for about a minute and then strode over to Shepard, pulled her up off the couch, and hugged her. Jane smiled. She was getting better at hugging around his weird angles and he was getting better at not squeezing her into his sharp edges. 

Garrus pulled back a little and laid his forehead on hers. Jane had read enough about turian culture by now to know the significance of that. "How do you always know what to do?" Garrus asked. "You always know how to make me feel better." 

Shepard ran her fingers under his fringe to hit that spot that made his eyes darken and his subharmonics hum. "Because I'm just that good," she teased. She turned serious for a second. "Talk to your son. But don't just forbid him to go. The GP is a good place and we know how to protect young turians." 

Garrus sighed. "Alright. But right now-" he scooped his hands under Shepard's thighs and lifted her up, hooking her legs over his hip spurs "-I think we have other business." 

A tingle shot through Shepard's body. She and Garrus had been - what, dating? Seeing each other? Together? - for a couple weeks and so far there had been little action. Shepard was willing to go at his pace, and he had never said he was going to pursue her quickly, but she was pretty ready to jump his scaly ass. 

Garrus carried Shepard the few steps to the kitchen and deposited her on the edge of the counter. He unhitched her legs from around his narrow hips and ran his hands up her thighs, stopping just short of where she wanted them to go. Her frustrated mumble turned into a breathless moan when he dipped his head to nip her neck. She pressed the blunt edges of her nails into his neck just under his fringe and his resulting rumble had heat pooling in her core. Garrus slid his talons up under her shirt and played them along the edge of her bra, ignoring her whimpers for him to go further. She took it upon herself to pull her shirt off, ignoring the little glare he shot her way. 

"I was getting to that," he murmured. 

"I was helping," she said. 

Garrus chuckled. He took both her wrists, pushed them behind her back, and pinned them with one hand. Shepard would be lying if she said she struggled. He leaned her back on her elbows to get better access and then ran his free hand down her side. His talons were just sharp enough to make her shiver but not enough to do damage. Jane moaned when his fingers slid under her bra strap again and slipped it off her shoulder. 

"Garrus, I swear if you don't get your ass moving-" he kissed her. 

"Shhh. I've been thinking about this for twenty... Twenty seven years," he said, "you're not going to rush it for me." 

Jane grinned and leaned back. Then she did the math. "Twenty seven years? How long did you-"

"Mumsy? We timed out early but Arkik said you went home!" The shout echoed through the house, and a second later Glyph went whizzing by to greet Ben. Garrus and Jane made eye contact, both panicked. Garrus reacted first, grabbing Jane by the thighs and hauling her off the counter. He set her on her feet and swung her behind him just as Ben walked into the living room, where she had a clear view through to the kitchen. She saw Garrus, her mother's head poking over his shoulder, and stopped. 

"Hiiii..." Ben drawled. Shepard cursed how damn smart her child was. She could see Ben putting two and two together as her eyes went from Jane's discarded shirt to Garrus to Jane, neither of whom could meet her eyes. Ben started to smile. 

"Mumsy, is this a bad time?" She asked. 

"Yes it's a bad goddamn time," Jane growled. 

Ben burst out laughing. "You sound like Uncle Zaeed," she snorted. Jane sighed and walked out from behind Garrus. There was no point in protecting her modesty any further, she didn't really have any and she and Ben were both soldiers. It was nothing she hadn't seen before. She picked up her shirt and started untangling it. 

"How was your mission?" She asked. Ben glanced at Garrus. 

"Oh he's fine. There's no point trying to keep secrets from him anyways," Jane said. 

"Okay... It was alright. Krul took a bullet to the knee though so we had to bug out early," Ben said. Shepard frowned. She hadn't been made aware that anyone was hurt. 

"Oh don't make that face. Everyone is fine. We got the intel, too." Ben was clearly reluctant to speak further in front of Garrus so she changed the subject. 

"Did you hear about Hannah and John?" She asked. Shepard could just about feel Garrus determine that they would not be getting back into the action anytime soon and so force himself to relax. Jane, though, suspected her youngest had information that she wanted, so she settled in for the extraction. 

"No I did not," she said. 

Benezia grinned. "Well let me tell you." 

*

"Can someone just give me a bloody summary?" Shepard just barely stopped herself from bellowing. As it was, her voice shut down the sounds of squabbling, anxious Captains and Directors and she sighed into the silence. 

"Thank goodness. Does anyone even remember what we're arguing about?" They started up again. This was the problem with having so many Captains involved in one mission, she thought. Too many cooks in the kitchen. Thankfully, one of her Civilian Captains bellowed for her this time.

"Shut up, you stupid pyjaks!" Jorgal Strigar roared. The table quieted immediately and Shepard covered a smile. Every one of her Directors, the eight people who controlled the GP’s departments, had been skeptical when she appointed Strigar as a Captain in the Civilian Corps. Civilian was responsible for dealing with colonies, factions, governments, and other civilian interest groups that the GP came in contact with. They usually worked with the Construction teams on larger rebuilding projects or helped colonies find the resources to do their own work, and the job required a fair bit of diplomacy, which Strigar didn’t exactly have. But he did have a way of bulldozing anyone who got in his way and a soft spot for underdogs, which made him an immediate ally of any little colony trying to get back on its feet. He didn’t have much patience for the politics of the other Captains, though, a trait that he and Shepard shared. 

“Thank you Strigar,” she said. He leaned back in his chair and grunted, blinking his vivid red eyes around the room like he was daring the others to comment. 

“Now. Director Rumbold, can you please walk us through Strategy’s plan for the conference?” She asked. Marsden Rumbold was a dark little human with a mind as quick as any salarians and the head of the Strategy Department. He nodded and stood up, calling up a hologram of the conference centre on Rannoch on the tabletop. They were in the big board room at GP headquarters, going over the plans for their deployment the next day. The big board room was tucked into the back of HQ, behind the stairwell. It doubled as the panic room of the building, and was perhaps one of the most secure places on the Citadel. That being said, Shepard found it a bit dark - no windows - and a bit oppressive - low lighting. When it was filled to capacity, as it was today, it felt even more cramped than usual. 

Rumbold pulled up the hologram and zoomed out to show the centre and the surrounding area. The location they were using was actually the quarians’ civil centre, but it was the best option they had. Judging by the way Rumbold scowled at it, he wasn’t a huge fan. 

“All of you are familiar with the Quarian Homeworld Civil Government Building,” he stated. “The building itself presents many challenges to anyone trying to defend it. We are anticipating incursion attempts from krogan radicals who haven’t subscribed to Urdnot Wrex’s plan to reach a population and settlement agreement with the Council races, and this building is not set up to repel organized assailants.” His voice was quiet, almost quiet enough that the people on the furthest edges of the oblong table had to lean in to hear him. He was short enough that he was difficult to see around the glowing blue hologram of the Government Building, and captivating enough that everyone leaned so that they could see him. Rumbold changed views to the building’s floorplan. 

“All conference activities will be taking place here, as far away from the windows as possible. The quarians apparently built this place with the view in mind, not security, so even though it’s reinforced glass on the windows it’ll still crumple under RPG fire.” 

“Are we expecting RPG fire?” One of the Transport Captains asked. Rumbold frowned at him and kept going. There was no stopping him once he was in the middle of an explanation; it was better just to wait him out and save all questions for the end. 

“It is possible. There is one defensible bunker under the building, and if the situation escalates all conference attendees are to be taken there. Strategy will be taking the majority of the security roles on the ground. Transport will be pulling double duty taking delegates to and from their quarters and running low orbit fly-bys to ensure that no unauthorized transports can get close to the building. Recon will maintain a perimeter as close as here-" he layered in a green zone as close as a kilometre from the building "and will warn of any ground approaches. Civilian is in charge of all services including liaising with the delegates. The Civilian Corps will be armed as well, but with light concealables only. Biotics will be prioritized for Civilian roles. Our goal is to ensure the safety of all conference attendees. Any questions, or may the Captains of each sector describe their own tasks?" Silence was, as usual, not mentioned. Officially the Silence Director was actually part of the Strategy group, and the two Silent Captains present at this meeting were consulting from the Admin department. Most of the people who knew of Silence's existence were in this room, but there was no need to advertise that. It did, however, lead to questions like the one being asked by the Recon Captain beside Ben. 

"Do we have any surveillance support going into this?" The turian Captain asked. He was the one Ben had been seeing until recently, when she decided he was too clingy for her. By the way he kept tossing glances her way he hadn't quite gotten over her yet. Shepard resolved to keep an eye on that situation even as Arkik answered the question. 

"We're working with some Shadow Broker agents," he said. It wasn't exactly a lie, they were, but the Silent Corps would be there in force as well. It was good enough for the Captains, though, who moved on to the next question. 

"Are we expecting any internal hostilities?" Strigar asked. That would be part of his department. 

"No, but tensions may flare and your teams must be prepared for that," Rumbold replied.

"Are there any other forces that might want to disrupt the talks?" An asari Transporter asked. Shepard settled in. Part of the GP's business model was free speech, wherein subordinates could question their superiors at times and not be worried about the repercussions. Of course, that didn't apply in the field, but here in the planning stages, it was very useful. It did make for some very long meetings though. 

Nearly three hours later, Rumbold caught Shepard on her way out of the boardroom. She was exhausted, but pleased with the outcomes of the meeting. She felt ready for the conference. 

"Commander," Rumbold called. She stopped and waited. She liked Marsden Rumbold, he was a good man. He caught up to her, looking impossibly short next to her. She had to incline her head towards him to actually hear him when he spoke. 

"The conference will be attacked," he said, "even if we're prepared there could be significant damage."

"There always is, Director. I'm more worried about whether the damage will be useful or not," Shepard said. 

Rumbold's grey eyes narrowed and she was sure he was evaluating her. "You think an attack would make the Council and the krogan more lenient. No one wants another war," he stated. It was a statement everyone heard all too often, usually by people who seemed to be doing their best to cause another war. 

"Yes," Shepard grinned. 

"An attack could kill a lot of people," he pointed out. 

"Yes it could. That's the worst case scenario though. Best case is an attack happens, we repel it, and the shock makes everyone more cooperative. Either way, we're probably going to be attacked," Shepard said. It was too good of an opportunity for rebels to pass up, really. "It's our job to make sure the attack is as casualty-free as possible." 

Rumbold nodded. He was the most unflappable peacekeeper in Shepard's sizeable collection of unflappable peacekeepers. Marsden Rumbold didn't blink for global catastrophes, let alone small fish like a possible RPG barrage on a mostly glass building during the most important peace talks in decades. "Casualty-free. Got it." And she knew he did. Rum treated real life strategy like most people treated illicit business deals: with a sort of calculus that only made sense to the one performing it and most of the time didn't really consider the participants important. However if Rumbold was given a goal all other tasks faded and his sole purpose became obtaining that goal. If Shepard said casualty free he would damn well make it casualty free. She wasn't sure if it was a good trait or not. 

Jane made her way back to her office and was only waylaid three times by people wanting to ask her questions. By the time she reached her office she was ready for a nap or the continuation of her and Garrus's activities from the day before - which sadly had not resumed after Ben had found a reason to be elsewhere - or both. When Arkik followed her into her office and hit the seldom used panel to close the door, she sighed. 

"What's the fire?" She asked. 

Her salarian friend tilted his wide, thin smile at her. It was meant to be comforting, she thought. "No fires. Just wanted to give you a moment of quiet." 

She smiled back at him. "Did I ever tell you how lost I would be without you?" She asked. 

Arkik's narrow smile widened. "Constantly." 

Shepard stood up from her desk and walked over to the mission board, still scrolling through orange and white coded assignments. More and more of those assignments were for details at the conference. It was actually a little distressing to have so many of her teams in one place on an event where they were nearly certain to be attacked. 

Arkik, however, was having none if her self doubt. He gently steered her away from the wall and towards the door. 

"We're ready, Commander," he said. "We're ready."


	16. The Art of Rapid-Fire Rifles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shepard is guiltily excited, Garrus is cocky, and Arkik is in command.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been too long! But here it is, some fighting. I hope you like it!

"Garrus!" Shepard bellowed his name in a futile attempt to be heard over the rat-tat-tat of bullets and the cacophony of voices. She was somewhere near the entrance to the great hall in Rannoch City's Homeworld Civil Government Building. She had been running to get to the GP's on site command centre, having been alerted about the bomb just moments before it detonated. Now, the beautiful arched glass windows and graceful purple stone columns were all smoking rubble. She had been close enough to the blast to be knocked off her feet, and when she regained consciousness her radio was buzzing with chatter saying that the rebel krogan were on their way in. Shepard knew she wasn't well enough armed to be fighting krogan and she knew she needed to regroup, gather her forces, and coordinate a defense. For that, she needed help. 

She ducked under some twisted rebar poking out if what might have been concrete footings before the bomb and continued to pick her way through the rubble,looking for anyone she could use. 

"Arkik?" She called, hoping her radio was still working. 

"Right here," he replied, from somewhere to her left. Relief flooded her. Arkik had appeared atop a slab of ragged flooring holding two guns and her targeting visor. He threw the visor at her and waited until she had it on before he threw the gun. It was her favorite rifle, her old modded out Raptor. It had seen her through the Reaper wars and through many years afterwards, and she loved it. She made Arkik bring it on every one of their away missions, even though there weren't as many of those anymore. She had kept it updated over the years, but it was still considered classic weaponry. Funnily enough, several of the top end mods were ones Garrus had installed for her years ago that she had never found better replacements for. It had been a bitter reminder but now it was sort of... Sweet. Arkik threw her gun down to her and scrambled down after it, holding his Ravager loosely. It was the newest version of the classic salarian Scorpion, and it packed a hell of a punch. 

"Krogan troops coming in from the north, attacking Recon 3 and 14. Barrage flyers passing east to west at five minute intervals, Transport intercepting. Recon 21 and 5 reporting sniper fire aimed at the great hall from south southeast. Shuttles dropping off krogan ground crews at all four entrances. Strategy ready to intercept," Arkik rattled off. Shepard nodded through it, allowing the information he had to fill out the battleground picture forming in her mind. 

"Okay. Get to the command centre. Take charge. I want you coordinating all defense efforts including the quarians. I'm going to stay in here and round up any survivors. I'll get them to the bunker. Send any available Civilian teams to me, okay?" She ordered. Arkik blanched and Shepard could see the protest forming. She cut it off at the pass. 

"I'll be fine. I've been through a couple wars, you know. I need you in command and I'm better suited to be here. I've fought krogan before, most of Civ and Strat have not," she said. 

Arkik waved her words away. "Not worried about you."

Oh. "Oh. Well, as of now you are the Assistant Commander of the Galactic Peacekeepers and you outrank all of them. If the quarians give you shit you call in that favor that Xen owes us. Now go. Go!" She pushed him until he overcame his surprise and started moving. Shepard felt a grin forming and tried to suppress it. She shouldn't be happy that people were attacking her conference, derailing the peace negotiations and forcing her to shoot them. She shouldn't be. 

Shepard made her way to the top of a pile of rubble to get a clear look at the remnants of the north entrance, where the bomb had blown the wall off the building. The krogan must have been dropped immediately after the bomb, because they were awfully close to the hall and she didn't see any Strategy teams moving to intercept. She didn't want to think what might have happened to them. She laid down flat on the hilltop and scoped the closest group of three heavily armored krogan. Then she chucked a singularity at them and started shooting. She put a bullet into the chest of each of the three in quick succession to drop their shields and watched them float up, caught in the singularity field. It also worked to crumple and compress them as they floated, so she let it go at it for a moment before she threw a warp field down at them and detonated the singularity. 

"Three down, a bazillion more to go," she muttered. She swung her scope, searching for more targets. Four perfect headshots later and the north entrance was clear, for the moment.

"Arkik, you there?" She barked over the comms. 

"Yes," he sounded strained. 

"The north entrance is clear for now. Can you get a couple teams on it ASAP please?" 

"Will do. We spotted movement to your south, think it might be survivors," he said. 

"On it." She cut the link and slid down her rubble hill. She wished she had had her armor on before the bomb hit. If she got shot her biotic barriers would soak up a bit of the impact but not a lot. It would hurt like hell, basically. She picked her way through the dusty but mostly intact interior of the building, looking through the dim wreckage for survivors. Before the bomb there had been nearly a hundred people here plus Civilian crews and very little time to warn them all. She was hoping that Captain Strigar's people had gotten them moving towards the bunker, but there was no way they had all cleared out by now. Where were they all? 

Shepard ducked a beam hanging by one end into the corridor just before it let out into the great hall and butted her rifle to her shoulder to check through her scope for hostiles. Her mod picked out several bodies through the smoke billowing into the great hall from fires lit by the earlier explosion, but her visor tagged them as friendlies so she swung her rifle past them to scan the rest of the room. The Great Hall was immense and she wouldn’t be able to see all of it from here but she could at least be sure the immediate area was clear. Though there was a double line of pillars running through the centre of the hall and so many nooks and crannies to hide in that she couldn’t be sure it was clear anyways. Shepard advanced into the hall, careful to stay behind as much cover as she could. Her usual battle tactics involved running into the middle of a firefight, her souped-up armor and heavy biotics more than enough protection for her, but this time she had to be a bit more cautious. 

A cracking shot rang out from somewhere to her left and Shepard crouched, waiting to make sure no more sniper fire was following it before she stood and continued her slow advance. Arkik had reported that Recon had a line on snipers to the south, firing into the hall. If they were any good, a couple of snipers could rip through a group of civilians. 

“Arkik,” Shepard whispered into her comm. She wasn’t sure who was in the great hall and she didn’t need to give away her position to the first krogan who came along. 

“A little busy, Commander,” her assistant groused, sounding stressed. She wondered how much trouble their “allies” were giving him. 

“Can you get me a line to Recon 21?” She asked. 

“Done. Also, friendlies south. Councilor Vakarian and Urdnot Wrex among them. Thought you’d like to know,” he said, then clicked off. Shepard grinned. Well wasn’t that a pick-me-up. But as much as she’d like to get to her friends, she had business. 

“Captain T’soni?” She asked. 

“Here,” Ben said. Jane breathed a sigh of relief. 

“You ok?” 

“Fine, Commander. You? Heard you were pretty close to that bomb,” Ben said. She tried her best not to sound worried, but Shepard knew the nuances of her voice pretty well. 

“Yeah, I’m good. Could use some better armor, but hey. Can’t get everything you want, right?” 

“Nope, not in our house.” 

Shepard grinned again. “Anyways, I hear you have a line on a couple snipers who’re firing into my hall,” she said. 

“Your hall? You invading Rannoch, Commander?” Ben teased. 

“Yup, figured it’s next on the list.” After the war she had gone to Tuchanka for a couple months with Liara and several of Wrex’s detractors had accused her of trying to influence their government. She had headbutted more than a few stubborn krogan over that one. The girls had heard that story, of course, and every time she visited one of their friends’ homeworlds they would tease that she was invading. Shepard had given up protesting by now. 

“Ha. Yeah, I had their positions but then the bastards went quiet. I’m not sure where they’re at now.” 

Shepard cracked a smile. She could help with that. “Alright. Get ready, I’m going to draw their fire and you’re going to clear them out. Got it?” She asked. Her daughter started to stutter a protest and Jane dodged out into the open in front of a south-facing window. She paused just long enough to be sure the snipers spotted her then dove into a roll to the far side of the window. Sure enough, a crack rang out overhead. It was followed by a spray of gunfire and then Ben’s satisfied grunt. 

“Got ‘em. You’re clear, Commander. Do you need anything else?” Ben asked. 

Shepard snorted. “Nope, I should be fine now, thanks.” 

“Anytime, Mumsy. Stay safe, okay?” 

“You too Benny.” She clicked off the comms and kept pressing on through the great hall. The Homeworld building was enormous - Shepard had a theory that the quarians built everything as large as possible now that they had room to stretch out - but the bellow of voices and gunfire was soon clear from the south end of the hall. Shepard took a risk and opened a broadband comm channel. It was better that than get shot by a jumpy Civilian team on her way in. 

"All GP units in Homeworld Great Hall, this is Commander Shepard approaching from the north. I will be supremely pissed if you shoot me." A wave of chatter followed her announcement and then a bellow - unmistakably Strigar's - silenced them.

"Shut it! We've got you Commander. Be warned there are at least five hostiles between you and us. We've got our IDs up though so you should be able to distinguish us." 

"Understood," she said. Her approach became immediately more cautious. Shepard located the krogan ground crew about a hundred metres further south and took cover behind a leather sofa, still in good shape despite the chaos. She set up her rifle on the back of the chair and took aim. The group was dug in behind furniture and a couple columns, pouring relentless firepower down on what she assumed was Strigar's position. 

Shepard called up her biotics. She opened the broadband channel a split second before she threw and called "Cover!" Then let loose a barrage of biotic grenades. She ducked back down and got her eye to her scope, putting bullets into krogan as fast as she could. They were tough bastards; only one of them got taken out by a grenade. The others recovered quickly and turned on her, their fighting desperate and choppy. They didn't want to be stuck between Shepard and her people any more than she wanted them there. It didn't matter, though, there they were. She put three bullets into the head of one krogan, watched him drop, then chucked a warp field at another. She blasted him with a second warp as soon as she was able and down he went too. 

Shepard's shields flickered near her left side of her head and she swivelled. A krogan battlemaster was approaching her, coming in with a shotgun and three layers of protective equipment. Shepard pumped the trigger of her Raptor as fast as possible, eating through his biotic barrier a lot slower than she would have liked. The krogan was almost in range. Shepard swivelled again, took in the last krogan being peppered by bullets - presumably friendly bullets - and hopped the couch, throwing another biotic grenade cluster at the battle master as she went. The grenades took his shields down to half and Shepard reloaded, knowing he was going to be looming over her meagre cover momentarily. She popped up to shoot and he was a lot closer than she would have liked. 

"Shit," she swore, before throwing a warp field at him. It hit and disintegrated the last of his shields, but he was still kicking. He took aim and blasted her with his shotgun. Shepard ducked most of it and some got diffused by her biotic barriers, but a couple pellets made their way through and skimmed her left shoulder. She scrambled backwards to one of the pillars the krogan had been using for cover before and ducked around the side, hoping the Civilians would have her on trackers and try not to shoot her. She steadied her gun against her shoulder, leaned out, and watched the krogan' head rock sideways from an impressive shot to the temple. Shepard grinned. She would bet dollars to donuts- 

"All clear, Shepard," a cocky dual-toned voice called to her. The voice lost a bit of its arrogance and gained some humor when it said, "you can stop hiding now." 

Shepard gasped with mock indignation and came out from behind her pillar. "Excuse me? Who just killed four out of five bad guys and saved your ass?" She asked. Her smirk widened at the sight of Garrus with his hip against the edge of a table, arms crossed and his most smug grin plastered across his mandibles. 

"Well, it's pretty hard to kill people without my gun, but I made due. I think I should get bonus points for that, at least," he said. "Speaking of which, here you go. Thanks." He handed a small pistol back to the very irritated Strigar, who snatched it with a grunt. 

Shepard chuckled at her Captain. "You good, Strigar?" She asked. He grumbled yes. She didn't bother asking Garrus. Garrus wouldn't have been bantering with her if he were hurt or excessively worried about their position. It was his way of letting her know he was okay. She made her way through the hasty sofa and table barriers the group had set up and took stock of the situation. She laid a hand on Garrus's arm as she passed him and he nodded at her. All good. 

"Strigar, sitrep?" She asked. Her Captain straightened up. 

"Clear for the moment, Shep. Civilian and Strategy moved eighty attendees to the bunker and nearly all non essential personnel. Two Civ teams stayed back to round up any survivors, but there are still twelve attendees unaccounted for. Mostly krogan, if you'd believe that," he said. Shepard snorted. She did believe that. Though if the krogans had had insiders she was surprised the Silent or the Shadow Broker's people hadn't picked up on them. Krogan weren't usually that sneaky. 

"What are you implying, Clan Jorgul?" A familiar voice boomed and Shepard looked around to spot Wrex and Bakara approaching. She grinned. 

"I'm implying that a few of your people might be traitors to your cause, Chief," Strigar said. Shepard sighed. 

"If you think that my people had anything to do with this you have another thing coming," wrex growled. He pushed his way past Shepard to get in Strigar's face. "You and I both know who did this." Thankfully, Strigar backed down. 

"Really? We do know who bombed a neutral Homeworld and attacked a hundred civilians? Because I'm feeling really out of the loop here Wrex and I don't like it." Shepard spoke nonchalantly but Wrex knew her better than to trust her tone. 

She moved over to the table where Garrus was leaning and took up a spot beside him, then handed him her rifle and started poking around her injured shoulder. Garrus frowned at her but then realized what he was holding and started looking over her gun, his fingers lingering on the mods he had installed so long ago that she had kept. Shepard ignored him and accepted a packet of medigel from Strigar. When the gel kicked in and the sting of her shoulder subsided, she looked around again. Wrex looked guilty. 

"I'm still waiting," she said. 

"He is ashamed to tell you," Bakara said. The krogan female was in her traditional shaman garb, face mostly covered. Still, her tone spoke volumes about her feelings on Wrex's silence. 

"Why?" She asked, still deceptively calm. 

"Because it's a krogan problem and it should be dealt with by krogans!" Wrex bellowed. 

Shepard snapped. She hurled a biotic throw at him and he stumbled back a few steps. She took the opportunity to charge in and push her face into his personal space. 

"Then the krogan should have dealt with it!" She roared. "But they didn't and now it's killing quarians, and turians, and everyone else! That makes it my problem, Wrex, and goddamn it I'm going to deal with it! With or without you!" 

For a second she thought he was going to headbutt her, or worse. But as he growled at her she saw something shift in his eyes and it was her turn to be shocked. That was hopelessness on his face. 

"I've tried, Shepard. I just... Can't reach them anymore. I'm too old, like my father was." Shepard knew what had happened to Wrex's father. 

"That's not you, Wrex," she said. "You once told Uvenk you would drag his clan to glory whether they liked it or not. What happened?" 

"I got tired. Tired of all the infighting and pissing and moaning. The krogan want war, Shepard, it's in their bones. There are a lot of my people who think the rebels have it right, that we should fight for new lands and take what we want. I don't know if I can convince them they're wrong," Wrex said. 

Shepard understood. There had been many a moment during the war when she had wanted to throw her hands up and say to hell with the galaxy. There was too much bad blood, too much history and too many people with very long memories. But her understanding of Wrex's position didn't change the fact that she had a job to do - keep the peace, and she needed Wrex to be able to do it. 

"You have to, Wrex. We can't go to war with the krogans. No one wins that war. You have to go to the bunker, convince those snooty Council assholes - sorry -" this directed at Garrus, who shrugged and didn't disagree "that the krogan are better than this, and make them negotiate with you. If you can go back to Tuchanka with habitable planets ready for colonizing that no one had to die for, your people will follow you. They already see the good of being part of the galactic community and there's no way they all want to go backwards," Shepard said. Wrex looked undecided but thankfully Bakara stepped in. Shepard was relieved; she was almost out of speeches. 

"Shepard is right, Wrex. After the Reapers the krogan were heroes. They defended Palaven, they fought for Earth, they pushed the Reapers off Tuchanka. They don't want to go back to being villains, and they certainly don't want another war. You are blinded by the angry krogan, the ones who doubt your judgement at every turn and you cannot see the krogan loyal to you. There are more than you think," she said. Shepard smiled at her. Wrex grumbled a big despairing sigh but she could see his heart wasn't in it anymore. 

"Fine, fine. I'll go to the bunker. Teach these knuckleheads how to have a quad," he said. 

Shepard signalled Strigar. “Captain, take your team and get the rest of the attendees to the bunker, please,” she said. He saluted and his team moved out to collect the other survivors and ready them for the trek to the bunker. A moment later they were ready to move out and Shepard got back on the comms. 

“Arkik,” she barked. 

Her assistant came back immediately. “Shepard, you’ve got ground crews moving in on your position. Get Strigar moving now, please,” he said, “Oh, and a Strat team is coming to you so keep your head down and don’t get killed.” 

Shepard had to grin. Not at the krogan on their way to kill her - though if she were being honest that was a bit exciting, and she might have missed it - but at Arkik giving her orders. She could hear the anxiety in his voice as he did and she had to credit him for doing it anyways. 

“Will do. Keep me updated,” she said. She turned to give the order to Strigar and came face to face with Garrus Vakarian, in his civvies, holding a borrowed rifle. 

“Nope, no way,” she said. His mandibles flared. 

“Technically, I outrank you,” he pointed out. Shepard warred between intense anger and laughter. Finally she settled for laughter. 

“Fine,” she let it go. “Can we at least get to a better position, sir?” She asked. His eyes darkened for a second. 

“Sir. I could get used to that.” She grinned. She shouldn’t be getting turned on in the middle of a political crisis… She didn’t say anything, just pushed at his shoulder to get him moving. They melted back into the smoke, all their old combat training and vast experience kicking in. Having Garrus back at her side felt natural, Shepard thought as he signalled her to move back a pillar or two. She followed his signal and he fell back after her. They worked together as if the last couple decades had never happened and they had been beside each other all the time. 

They positioned themselves between the approaching krogan and the retreating attendees, framing the south hall entrance. It gave them good cover and a good view to any incoming krogan. Then came the waiting. Shepard was getting antsy, and kept poking her head out of cover, much to Garrus’s upset. Every time she did it he would hiss at her. When the first bullets came flying by, Shepard whipped her head back into cover and grinned over at Garrus, who looked ready to kill her. 

“If you die, I’m never speaking to you again,” he said. 

Shepard outright laughed. “You tried that once, my dear, and it didn’t quite work. I don’t think I’ll let you ignore me again.” She leaned out of cover and hurled a biotic singularity down the hall. It picked up a couple of krogan with their shields down and she let fly with the Raptor. Garrus waited for her to pull back before he took over, so their alternating fire never let up on the krogan. 

“One less to worry about!” He called, and she giggled. It was a definite giggle. She felt like she was flying, and it would have been a little alarming if she wasn’t so thrilled. Garrus grinned over at her and she could see him feeling it too. 

“I missed this,” she called. 

“Me too, Jane,” he replied, lining up another headshot. A quick pull of the trigger and another assailant went down. “Me too.”


	17. The Art of Old Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shepard is too old for this shit, Tali is too antsy to stay put, and Arkik is too besieged to give a shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School's done!! Thanks so much to everyone for waiting around for this fic to pick back up while I crushed my exams :). Gotta admit, I'm not a hundred percent sold on this chapter but it does get the plot where I need it to go so it's got that going for it. Let me know what you think! 
> 
> -AO

There was a veritable pile of bodies outside the great hall of the Homeworld Civil Government Building. Shepard was about a bullet away from being out of ammo and a few protein bars short of a full biotic charge. She was flying a little lower now and Garrus was looking a bit grim as well. 

“Arkik, where the fuck is that Strat team?” She called, slapping her omnitool’s comm like it was its fault that their reinforcements hadn’t arrived yet. “If I die because you held that fucking Strat team back I’ll make sure you don’t get jack shit!” 

Arkik’s voice had risen about an octave and a half. “They were ambushed by the west entrance!” He squeaked. Shepard and Garrus traded looks. The west entrance was several hundred meters away and they didn’t have the bandwidth to make it there and dig out an entire team. 

“We’re in the shit, Arkik, you need to come up with something,” she said. 

“I’m working on it. Fall back to where you picked up Wrex. Strigar says he left some supplies there.” 

“We’ll lose the hall entrance.” 

“If you stay, you'll lose a lot more," he said quietly. 

Shepard cursed but she knew she had no options. She glanced over at Garrus and when he nodded she fell back. She threw a couple warp fields to cover his retreat and they managed to leapfrog their way back to their original position with no incidents. She could hear the krogan advancing on them, though, and here in the centre of the hall it would be a lot easier for them to be surrounded and overwhelmed. 

On the plus side, there were a couple clips of ammo here and she gladly reloaded, passing a clip to Garrus, who took it with a grateful grin. Then she set about fortifying their barricades, making sure their couch and table walls were as solid as possible. Garrus set up his rifle on the back of one sofa so he could pan and cover the west and south walls, and Shepard set up on the other side. 

“You good, Shepard?” he called. 

“Yup, you?” she asked. He grunted. 

“It’ll do. I’m starting to think we might be too old for this,” he said. She smiled. She was thinking the same thing, not that she’d ever admit it. She was getting tired, and twenty years ago she’d be just hitting her stride. It wasn’t fair, how the short-lived species aged. She would live well over a hundred years, probably a hundred and fifty, and even now in her mid fifties she was tired. It wasn’t fair. Ashley and James never seemed to get tired. Jack never got tired. It was just her. 

“I can just about hear you feeling sorry for yourself,” Garrus called over. She fought off the urge to turn and glare at him. 

“How did you know?” 

“There’s only two reasons why you stop bantering, Jane. 1. You’re dead or incapacitated, and most of the time not even then. 2. You’re feeling sorry for yourself.” He thought for a minute. “Or if one of your team is hurt. Then you’re just mad.” 

She quirked a bit of a smile. “Maybe that’s not even true anymore,” she said, “maybe I’ve changed.” 

He snorted. “Maybe. And maybe the krogan coming at us are bringing us flowers and dextro chocolate. But I seriously doubt it.” 

“Well aren’t you two just the cutest thing?” A heavily filtered voice sounded to Shepard’s left. Shepard and Garrus swung their rifles towards the sound and the helmeted head ducked. 

“Whoa, whoa. It’s me!” The voice called. Shepard held off from firing for the moment and the figured stepped out of the smoke. Shepard and Garrus sagged. 

“Tali? What are you doing here?” Garrus asked. Tali led her team into their little fortress and took cover. 

“We’re your support,” she said. Her voice was full to the brim with cheer. She was in her suit, due to the bombing and the aliens and all the other things that could cause infections in her terrible immune system, but Shepard had spent years getting to know that voice. Tali was enjoying this as much as she and Garrus. 

“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” Shepard asked. 

“Of course!” She chirped. “It’s just like old times! And I told them not to build this damn building out of glass!” 

Garrus looked up. He was busily looting the quarians for levo protein bars, which he tossed to Shepard, and ammo, which he clipped to his gun. “When’s the last time we were pinned in a quarian building by rogue krogan?” 

Tali shrugged. “You know what I mean. If you want to be sour about it, that’s up to you.” 

“Commander?” Her comm went off. “There’s krogan approaching from all entrances. You’re going to be surrounded momentarily. The teams are converging on your location but you’ll have to hold them off until they get there. Admiral Tali’Zorah should be with you momentarily to help,” Arkik said, “Easiest way to get her off my back.” 

Shepard snorted. That, she believed. “She’s already here,” Shepard said. “Thank you Arkik.” She hung up. “Krogan from all sides, way outnumbered, yada yada,” she said to the others. Tali and Garrus didn’t even flinch. They spread themselves around the edges of their fortifications and readied their weapons. Then, again, came the waiting. 

“But seriously. Since when do they let quarian Admirals lead ground teams?” Shepard asked. That just didn’t click with her. 

“Shepard. Do you really think I’d pass up the opportunity to shoot things with you and Garrus again? And save your ass in the process? No, of course not. Besides, I’m an Admiral and I outrank most of them, so they couldn’t really stop me.” That last part sounded a bit petulant. 

“AKA you whined at Arkik until he told you to get out of his command centre and do something useful,” Shepard said. Tali huffed in protestation but didn’t deny it. 

Garrus chuckled and Tali’s team shifted in their suits like they didn’t want to laugh at their leader. “Good to have you back, Tali,” Garrus said. 

A soft whump whump sound heralded the arrival of a biotic charge, and Tali called the direction. The quarians sighted down to the east and let fire. Garrus and Shepard kept their guns covering the other directions and sure enough fire started pouring onto their position from the north as well. The angle from the North was such that the bullets were coming in over the tops of their barriers, forcing Shepard and Garrus to plaster themselves again their barricades. She looked over at him, catching his eye just before she threw him her Raptor and stood up, pushing a biotic barrier out of her hands and enveloping their position. Garrus immediately stood and started shooting. He sighted down the Raptor and fired short bursts, three shots per target. She had no doubt each shot found home. 

But time was short and she was running out of energy to maintain her barrier. It had been a long day. "Hurry it up, Vakarian," she growled from between gritted teeth. Garrus sighted twice more then squatted back down to reload. Shepard ducked down behind her own cover as soon as he was safe. 

"I think we're clear, Shepard," he said. He leaned over to pass her her gun and a bullet tore past his head, spinning him sideways. He fell as if in slow motion, and Shepard was sure every millisecond was an hour. She popped up out of cover for a second to throw a singularity in the direction the shot came from and then scrambled over to Garrus's body. He wasn't moving. 

"Garrus?" She called. She shook his shoulder and when he didn't respond she stuck her fingers down his neck to check his pulse. 

"Tali, cover the north!" She called, "Garrus is down!" 

"What?!" Tali sounded panicked but she did it anyways, hopping awkwardly around their rough barricades to Shepard's position. She set up on the sofa Shepard had been using for cover and started picking off krogan. 

"Is he okay?" She asked, a hint of well-controlled shrieking in her voice. 

Shepard didn't answer, instead searching for a pulse. When was the last time she had tried to do first aid on a turian? There! That was definitely a pulse. She very carefully rolled Garrus over to inspect his face. The billed had caught him on the same side that the rocket had so long ago, his right. It had torn a good grade just along his temple and one of his fringe pieces and knocked him out. 

"He's alive! Hurt though!" She called to Tali. The quarian nearly sobbed with relief. Shepard slapped her omnitool on and then shrugged out of her jacket. 

"Arkik!" She snapped, "I need a goddamn evac and I need it right now! Tell me you have someone available!" 

Arkik's voice sounded even more strained than the last time she'd spoken to him, if that was even possible. "All targets converging on your location, Commander. All teams coming to you. Just hold on." He hung up. Shepard growled but didn't try to get ahold of him again. There was no point, he was doing the best he could and she was in the shit until things turned around. Shepard wrapped her jacket around Garrus's head to stem the flow of blood then grabbed her rifle. She was worried about him, but the wound wasn't severe enough to be fatal and they had other problems at the moment. 

She set back up over a table by Garrus's head and started picking her targets. The krogan were getting smart, staying in cover until she had to duck to reload before they started shooting. She caught a couple in a singularly though and threw another one into a pillar when Tali dropped his shields but she was tired and there seemed to be a lot more krogan than she had bullets. Tali was firing as consistently and accurately as a machine, picking off krogan after krogan with ruthless skill. Eventually, though, they both knew they'd be out of time. 

"Arkik, we are just about overrun. Give me some good news," Shepard said. She sighted on another foot soldier and watched his head explode. She frowned. She hasn't pulled the trigger, had she? No, that was definitely not her. 

"I have some good news, Commander," a very familiar voice called over the comms. She was close enough that Shepard could hear her actual voice as well. Jane grinned. 

"Well damn," Jane shouted, "I am never going to hear the end of this." She pulled the trigger on the last krogan in her sights and watched with grim satisfaction as he too fell. Tali stopped shooting a moment later and a few seconds after that the southern front quieted. 

"All clear, Commander," someone called. Shepard waited a few moments then carefully stood. A figure popped out from behind a column and she very nearly raised her gun back up before she realized it was not a krogan shape coming at her. 

Ben loped over to Shepard's barricades with her usual fluid grace and stopped just shy of Shepard, wearing what Liara typically called Shepard's very own shit eating grin. 

"You okay, Mumsy?" She asked. Unfortunately, Shepard didn't have time to engage her daughter in their usual battle of wits. 

"Yeah. Garrus was hit though. We need to get him to the Strat med group now," she said. Ben's face fell into Liara's worried frown. Around the hall, other Strategy and Recon groups were arriving and the gunfire had all but ceased. 

"Krul, Councillor Vakarian is wounded. Get medigel on him stat," Ben ordered. Her krogan teammate went to work. "I'll round up some folks to help us get him to the med group." She set off at a run. Shepard hovered close to the krogan Recon medic working on Garrus, but as soon as the team Captains arriving in the hall saw her they started to converge on her and slowly she was pulled away from Krul and Garrus. Tali, who was by her side and spitting a string of angry expletives into her comm, was just as agitated and kept her head tilted in Garrus's direction. Shepard tried to field as many questions and organize as much as she could, but her heart wasn't really in it. The second Krul stood up and looked around for her, she and Tali abandoned the gaggle of GP that wanted to speak to them and went to him. 

"He's stable, Commander," Krul said, "But we need to get him to the med group for a transfusion right away." Shepard could see Ben hovering like an anxious helicopter in the periphery, ready and waiting. All eyes were on her, waiting for her to decide if she was staying or going, and unfortunately there was only one right answer at this point. 

"Go," she said. Ben's recruits carefully loaded Garrus onto a makeshift gurney and took off towards the east entrance, where she'd originally come into the hall. Shepard watched them go, feeling at least a little bit relieved that Ben was with Garrus and would surely update her if there were any changes to his condition. She turned to her Captains as soon as Ben and the gurney were out of sight. 

"Now, someone needs to explain to me what the fuck just happened." 

*

Jane was more tired than she had been in decades, she thought. At least since she had been pregnant with Hannah. She was sitting in the tent the Strategy medical group had quickly set up, waiting for Garrus to wake up. He had been out for nearly an hour now, and in that time her Captains and Arkik had filled her in on the sobering krogan situation. 

Wrex was still in the bunker, negotiating with the Council races for planets to settle, and while he was doing that rebels from Tuchanka were trying their best to barricade Tuchanka against his return. Turian fleets were on their way through the relays to Aralakh but it was probable the blockade would be in place before they got there. And in the meantime Garrus was unconscious and the entire shitstorm had somehow landed on Shepard. She was sending and receiving messages like she had turned into a comm buoy and she was fielding more frantic calls than she could count. She pushed most of them through to the Operators on site. 

Even now, there was a line of people waiting to speak to her and Arkik was running interference just outside the tent. He was incredible, and Shepard had never been more grateful to have him around, she thought as he stuck his head into the med tent and said, “We’ve got Tharius Vakarian, Commander. He’s on his way to the house.” 

“Thank you Arkik. Any word on demands from the rebels?” She asked. Arkik shook his head and popped back out to answer an incoming communication. 

“What’s - Tharius? You said - Tharius?” Jane bolted upright and sprinted to his bedside as Garrus struggled to sit upright. She put a hand on his chest and kept him down, looking around for the button that would summon the med team. 

“Garrus, it’s Jane. You’re okay. It’s okay,” she said. Where the fuck was that button? Garrus’s eyes were glazed and kept skipping around her face but eventually they settled on her eyes. 

“Jane?” He asked. He stilled under her hands. 

“Yeah, it’s me. You’re okay. Everything’s okay,” she said. 

“Tharius. I heard you say Tharius. Where?” His eyes were quickly getting heavy but he was struggling against sleep. Jane knew that feeling of frantic desperation that came with being afraid for one’s kids. She stroked a hand over his forehead and tried to reassure him. “We have him. He’s on his way to my house. Everything is okay,” she said again. 

Garrus sighed and laid back. “He’s okay?” 

“He’s fine. You’re fine, everyone’s fine.” Garrus hummed under her hands. Jane kept stroking his forehead until he fell asleep again, and then she found a chair and dragged it to his bedside. She was exhausted. She laid her head down on the bed beside Garrus’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Just for a moment, she promised herself. Just for a moment.


	18. The Art of Reminders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I exercise my ability to prolong the arrival of the smut.

Jane and Tharius had been staring at each other for about five minutes, neither moving a muscle. Garrus had watched for a moment, hoping one of them would break so he could go about his evening, but that didn’t seem to be happening, so he had just set his things down and wandered past Jane to get some water from the little house’s kitchen. Then he came back to the entry where the two were positioned across from each other, Jane in the doorway and Tharius near the arch to the living room, and leaned against a wall to wait this thing out. He had seen this happen to his son before, first when he met Tali when he was younger and then again when he met James and Ashley. He had a bit of a hero worship thing going on and it was hard for him to meet his idols. He also had a bit of shell shock from the day. His shuttle had thankfully been out of the combat zone and hadn't seen any sort of action, but there had still been krogan ships in the area and probably a hell of a lot of chatter to worry him.

Jane was taking it in stride, though, as she seemed to do everything. She was exhausted, that much was clear in the way she leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed and her eyelids drooping. She didn’t let on but Garrus suspected how much days like today wore on her. 

It had taken them nearly four hours from the time he had woken up and been cleared by the GP medics to get back to her house. She had had meeting after impromptu meeting with her people, the quarians, the krogan, the Councillors, anybody who was anybody and a lot of people who weren’t. She had handled all of them with typical Shepard attitude: mostly exasperated but infinitely patient and always appearing to have more time for each of them than she actually did. When she had finally gotten to go home she had spent most of the journey on her datapad, organizing her peacekeepers with the same attitude. Garrus himself had been right there with her, reassuring his team of assistants and diplomats that he was alright, organizing his people for the following day, and corresponding with the turian Hierarchy to figure out their next move. It was a long day. 

And then Shepard had walked into her house, ready to let her shoulders droop and her guard down and she had been met with Tharius Vakarian, who was ready to stand and stare at her. But he was sure this also wasn’t the first time she had met a young person who couldn’t quite handle meeting her, so she stood with something like weary amusement on her face and waited him out. Eventually, her bad leg got sore and she shifted slightly, and then her eyes narrowed as Tharius shifted with her. 

Garrus’s eyes flicked back and forth from his son to Shepard as she slowly dropped a hand and Tharius’s hand twitched in response. He caught the little grin she tucked away before she evened out her stance and stood at attention, a movement Tharius followed her through without thought. He straightened up and the motion seemed to jolt him out of his haze. He still couldn’t quite meet her gaze, but at least he wasn’t as out of it now. 

“So. You’re my newest recruit,” Shepard remarked. Garrus crossed his arms over his chest. He and Tharius hadn’t exactly had time to talk about that development. Tharius snapped to attention and his eyes finally flicked up to meet Jane’s. He looked about as nervous as Garrus had the first time he had set foot on Shepard’s ship and she had come to speak to him. 

“Y-yes ma’am,” he stuttered. 

Shepard held her stern Commander face for another second or two before she let it go and grinned at the young turian. 

“Nice to meet you Tharius. I’m Jane Shepard. I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said. She offered Tharius a hand that he blinked at for a moment before shaking. 

“Y-yeah, I mean, I know, you’re Commander Shepard - I -” Garrus couldn’t help it, he chuckled. Shepard covered her mouth with a hand when Tharius glared daggers over at his father. 

“Not Commander here, Tharius. Just Jane. But when you’re in training and if you make it into the GP, then we go formal. Okay?” Shepard asked. 

Tharius considered it for a moment before he nodded. 

“Good. Then if you don’t mind, you can take your stuff to the bedroom on the second floor, end of the hall. Let me know if you need anything," Shepard said. Tharius knew a dismissal when he heard one and thankfully he was quiet and listened. It was more than Garrus usually got out of him. 

As soon as the boy was gone upstairs Shepard wheeled to face Garrus and grinned at him, mouth wide. 

“Vakarian, are you aware that your son is a carbon copy of you?” She asked. 

Garrus groaned. “What tipped you off?” 

Jane made her way over to him, and if there was a bit more sway in her step, Garrus wasn’t complaining. She leaned into him and rested her hands against his carapace. Almost unbidden Garrus wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Jane grinned up at him and Garrus’s heart flipped over in his chest. 

“Well, besides the fact that he looks just like you, he also has that air of hapless awkwardness that you had when I met you. Remember the first time you came on a ground mission with me and Ash?” She asked. 

He groaned again. “Yes, yes I do. And you promised never to mention that mission again, so…” She chuckled but didn’t say anything further. She stood and stared up at him for a moment or two, just long enough for Garrus to think that he would stand like this with her forever if he could, and then her smile faded. She reached up and ran her fingers very lightly over the edge of the bandage on his face and chewed her lip, a sure sign that she was worrying. He knew exactly what about, so he gently pulled her fingers away from his face and pressed them to his lips instead. 

“I’m fine,” he said. She met his eyes for a second and glanced away, hating to be found out. But Garrus had always been able to read her like a book and apparently even all that time away couldn’t change that. She didn’t look reassured though. 

“Jane.” She looked up again. “I’m fine.” Finally she nodded. 

“I just got you back, Garrus. You’re not allowed to die,” she whispered. Garrus’s heart did that weird flopping thing again that reminded him he loved her. 

“I won’t,” he reassured her, “After all, I’ve waited a pretty long time to be here with you. I’m not going to screw it up by dying on you now.” 

It had the desired reaction. Jane’s lips twisted up in a little smile and she stood up on her toes to kiss him. Unfortunately, it was a quick peck and then she stepped away from him. 

“Food,” she said. Garrus blinked at the sudden subject change. Food was not exactly what he had on his mind at the moment. 

“Food?” 

“Food. I’m starving. You’ve been sleeping all day, so I understand if you’re not hungry, but Tharius is what, fourteen? I bet he eats like a horse,” she said. Garrus wasn’t quite sure what a horse is but he got the implication. Tharius could eat like a rabid varren that had been locked up for a couple weeks, and come to think of it he could use a bit of food himself. 

“Alright. Food. But after that-” He let it sit in the air between them and tried to pretend like his heart wasn’t hammering. He hadn’t really propositioned her so clearly before, even though he had made his intentions clear to her when they started this whole thing. They had been slow as a glacier since then and honestly he had been alright with it. She had seemed like she was too. But after the day’s events and yet another entry in a long list of near deaths, Garrus was ready to speed things up a little. Show her what she meant to him. Thankfully, Shepard smirked at him and sauntered a little closer. 

“You better follow through on that, Vakarian,” she murmured. Then she turned her attention back to the kitchen. “Now. I’m shit at cooking dextro food. Tried it for Tali once. If you’ve never seen a quarian go green you’re missing out.” 

Garrus chuckled and joined her at the fridge. “I get it, I get it. You cook yours, I’ll cook ours.” 

“Will do. Too bad we can’t compare. Oh, cook extra,” she said, beginning to pull food from her fridge and lay it out on the counter. He recognized some of the ingredients from his time on the Normandy, and he was a bit better at human food after a couple decades working with them, but most of it looked like inedible vegetation to him. 

“Why?” He asked. He did what she asked and pulled out enough food to make dinner for four, but he still wasn’t sure why. They had been on Rannoch for a couple days before the attack, setting up the conference, which had given him time to get some food for himself but he didn’t exactly have enough to feed an army. 

“I give it half an hour before at least Arkik and Nessa show up, plus three or four of my Captains,” she said, “In fact, I think the only reason they’re not here yet is because I threatened Arkik with dismemberment and dishonor if he didn’t leave us alone for a bit. And I dumped most of my work on him to keep him busy for a bit.” 

Garrus stopped his chopping to stare over at her in disbelief. He did not feel like being inundated by people who wanted him to have answers he didn’t have. Then he sighed. This was the largest attack by non-pirates since the Reaper War. He should be surprised that people weren’t more panicked. Shepard was watching him out of the corner of her eye, waiting for his reaction. 

“I’m going to need more sprigs,” he said. 

*

Shepard was right, as usual. Not only had Arkik turned up - which made sense, since he was staying with them - but he had brought most of the operation staff of the on-site GP with him. For such a reedy little fellow he seemed damned and determined to turn her house into a Galactic Peacekeeping field office, and Shepard was content to let him. Garrus’s personal assistant, Nessa, had also popped by, but only to confirm that he was indeed still alive - she had checked in on him four times at the med tent as well as sending him numerous messages over the course of the evening - and then she was off to the hotel the turian contingent was staying in in Rannoch city. Security in the city had been beefed up considerably due to the day’s events and after assuring Garrus that she and the others would be fine Nessa left him with a list of things to do and people to talk to. Garrus had let her, not for the first time wondering who was really running his office. 

On the plus side, it had been a very long time since he had seen Tharius so happy. His son was sitting on the edge of the group of peacekeepers, not saying anything, just drinking it all in. Almost everyone in the room was a long-serving member of the GP, if not a Captain or Director, and it was a hell of an introduction for his son. Garrus knew they still needed to talk about his decision to hide his application, but he was becoming less and less upset about it. Shepard was right, and he had known it before she had pointed it out: the GP was a good place. 

“And what about the blockade around Tuchanka? The rebels are never going to let Wrex back in and if they don’t the Council won’t take him seriously,” one of the humans said. 

“Good point, Rivera. Suggestions, anyone?” Shepard asked. She set another plate of snackfood down on the coffee table and then took up a stool beside Tharius. Garrus knew it was a deliberate choice, a tacit show of trust in the young observer. 

“With the support of the Council races we can break the blockade,” a turian suggested. From clan Eudonus, according to his facial markings. Talk immediately turns to how best to break a krogan blockade with minimal loss of life and minimal expenditure and minimal everything else possible. Garrus frowns. He doesn’t think - 

“Excuse me?” Garrus didn’t think his eyebrow plates could rise any higher. Tharius, his quiet, reserved son, was asking to speak in front of a room of people who he didn’t know, who he wanted to be part of, and who he was probably terrified of. Garrus was so proud he thought he might explode. The Peacekeepers, to their eternal credit, didn’t ignore him. A couple of them looked skeptical, but Tharius was firmly planted beside Shepard and she didn’t move an inch. When no one spoke, Tharius shot a glance at Shepard. 

“Well?” She asked. And Garrus had thought he loved her before. 

“I, uh… I don’t think... “ Tharius was panicking, his anxiety getting the best of him. Garrus willed him on. Tharius took a deep breath and forged on. “I think the krogans should break the blockade. On their own. From the inside.” 

He looked around like he expected to be shot down or laughed out, but no one said a word so on he went. “If the other races break the blockade it’ll just make people think the krogans can’t take care of their own problems. If they break it from the inside, it’ll show that they want to be part of the community and they’re able to police themselves.” 

One of the peacekeepers, a dark little man who looked like he could probably think his enemies to death, considered Tharius. “Who’re you?” He asked. 

“Tharius Vakarian,” Garrus’s son said, “I’m a new recruit.” 

The peacekeepers traded looks. “His shuttle came in this afternoon,” Shepard remarked mildly. 

“He’s right,” the dark man said, “If the krogan can break the blockade on their own everyone wins. If they can’t, the chances of the Council giving them planets to settle are very low.” He glanced over at Garrus. “No offense.” Garrus waved it off. 

“Okay,” Shepard was thinking hard now, “so how do we make that happen? Rumbold-” the dark man perked up - “Come up with a plan to that effect. Coordinate with Wrex and Bakara. See if they have enough allies on the planet to do it. And see if there are any krogan in the colonies who are willing to help. But do it quiet, please,” she instructed. Rumbold was nodding and typing on his datapad. 

“The rest of you. Get Construction crews on the Homeworld Government Building asap and keep Strategy and Recon on patrols. Get stealth ships to Aralak system but keep them out of range of the krogan, please and thank you,” Shepard said. The peacekeepers erupted into movement. Several of them moved in around Shepard to get further instructions, and a few of them nodded at Garrus and left right away. Rumbold made a beeline for Tharius. Garrus tried his best not to appear like he was listening in. 

“It was a good suggestion,” Rumbold said. Garrus had the feeling he didn’t give praise very often. Tharius was positively glowing. “Once you’re through basic, consider Strategy,” Rumbold said. He offered Tharius a hand to shake, which he did with enthusiasm. 

“I will, definitely,” he said. Garrus grinned and moved out of earshot. He had the feeling Tharius would do just fine in the GP. 

It was nearly an hour before the rest of the people cleared out of the house and by that time, Garrus was sure he had been up for at least a week straight. As soon as the doors closed Tharius let his barely concealed glee loose. 

“Dad! Did you see that? They thought I had a good idea!” He crowed. Garrus grinned back at him. It was good to see him excited. 

“You did have a good idea,” Shepard said. She keyed in the lock code for the door and came back to the kitchen. “Never be afraid to speak up in the GP, Tharius. If you have ideas like that you could save a lot of lives.” Tharius was nodding enthusiastically. 

“I will. Thank you Comman- Jane.” 

She waved and headed for the stairs. “I’m going to bed. Good night.” She disappeared upstairs, leaving the Vakarians alone in the kitchen together. Tharius looked suddenly awkward. 

“Dad… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about applying to the Peacekeepers,” Tharius said. He was looking anywhere except at his father. Garrus sighed. 

“I understand,” Garrus said. Tharius’s eyes flicked up like he was surprised. “Of course I understand, Tharius. I hadn’t spoken to Shepard in twenty four years. You thought I was going to be angry and forbid you from doing it.” 

“Yeah. You’re not?” Again he looked surprised. 

“I was. After your mom died… We talked about this, Tharius. About keeping secrets. It’s just you and me and if I can’t trust you to tell me the truth…” he let that trail off. 

Tharius’s head drooped. “I know. I just... I want to be a Peacekeeper. It’s all I want. And I thought you wouldn’t let me.” 

“And do you think peacekeepers sneak around and keep secrets because they’re afraid to stand up for what they believe in?” 

“...No.” 

“You must have courage,” Garrus said, “Peacekeeping is not easy. There was a krogan today who saved my life. His name is Strigar. Do you think he wanted to kill his own people? Of course not. But he believes in the Peacekeepers’ mission and he had the courage to stand up for his beliefs, even against his own people. What will happen if one day you have to stand against the turians? If you don’t have the courage to stand up to me because you’re afraid I might be angry, imagine standing up to your entire race in support of a principle.” It was harsh, but necessary. 

Tharius stood up quickly, his stool scraping along the floor. “You don’t think I can do it,” he said. 

Garrus stood up and grabbed his son by both shoulders. “No. I know you can. Your mother was the bravest person I ever knew, and you take after her.” 

Tharius’s eyebrow plates squished together in that way they did when he was upset. “Not Commander Shepard?” He asked. 

“Not what?” 

“Shepard’s not the bravest person you’ve ever met? She ended the Reaper War. Faced Sovereign. And the Collectors. And everything else,” he said. Ah, Garrus thought. There was more to this than just fear. 

“No, not Jane. Jane is brave, of course. One of the bravest. She has more courage than most of the galaxy put together, and she always tries to do what’s right. She’s one of the best people I know,” he said, “but your mother… your mother was brave in a different way. She was there to pick up the pieces after the war and she didn’t just do that, but she built something better. You have no idea how hard she had to fight to get the Hierarchy to accept the changes she wanted to make. But she did it, even though a lot of people didn’t think she could, and even though she wasn’t from a very respected clan. She was brave when she met me and realized how much of a mess I was, and she was brave when she had you. She was the kind of person you only meet once in a lifetime, Tharius, and so are you. So yeah, I know you can become a Peacekeeper if it’s what you want to do. But be courageous about it and be ready to stand up, because you’re going to be doing a lot of it.” 

Tharius was doing his best not to get emotional, his mandibles tucked in against his face and his hands fisting against his sides. He didn’t talk about his mother very often but when he did it was hard for him. He took a shaky breath and looked his father square in the eyes. 

“I will,” he said. 

“Good. Now go to bed. I’m tired and my face hurts,” Garrus joked. Tharius grinned but did as he was told, for once. Garrus wandered around the bottom floor of Shepard’s three-storey vacation home turning off lights and putting away food, struck by how domestic it all seemed and how much he didn’t mind. Then he climbed the long flights of stairs up to the third floor, where their room was. He wasn’t surprised to see Shepard lying in bed, covers pulled up to her shoulders, reading on her work datapad. He was, however, surprised to see glasses perched on the end of her nose. He had read somewhere that humans’ eyes got weaker as they got older, but this was the first time he had seen Shepard use them. It was striking to be reminded that they weren’t young and spry anymore and it was also striking to be reminded that he didn’t care. She was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It was also hard, to go from talking about Caeli and remembering how much he had loved her to standing here in front of Jane and remembering how much he loved her as well. It was a feeling he was working on reconciling. 

Shepard looked up at him when he walked in, glasses still perched on her nose, and smiled like she could tell that he was tired and not a little sad. 

“Everything okay?” She asked. She sat up a little, as usual favoring her right hand, and he could see that she was in nothing but a bra and probably panties. His mood was quickly shifting into the “everything is much better” range. 

He walked over to the side of the bed she was occupying and sat down in the curve of her body. He leaned over and pressed his forehead to hers. 

“Everything’s okay,” he said. Her smile softened and for the first time he thought he could see in her gaze that she might love him too. 

“Good. Then come here,” she said.


	19. The Art of Motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the sexy times finally happen! Woo! And in which Wrex is angry, Arkik is embarrassed, and Shepard is reassuring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... * runs and hides * do tell what you think of the smut. Also, we're just about there, folks!

“Everything’s okay,” he said. Her smile softened and for the first time he thought he could see in her gaze that she might love him too. 

“Good. Then come here,” she said. Then she leaned in and kissed him softly. Her hands set her book aside and then wrapped around his neck, pressing on that spot just under his fringe that she had recently discovered made him make a deliciously rumbly noise. Garrus's arms wound around her and he tilted his head to deepen their kiss. Her glasses scraped against his plates. 

Jane pulled back with a rueful grin and went to take them off, but Garrus stopped her. 

"No, leave them. I kind of like them," he said. She raised her eyebrows at him with a hint of amusement in her bright green eyes and he shrugged, for some reason sheepish. "They make you look... Distinguished," he said. 

Apparently this was not the correct word, because Jane pulled all the way out of his arms, eyebrows up in a totally different expression - the one that usually suggested he was about to get his ass kicked. 

"Distinguished?" She repeated. 

"Did I say that? I meant hot. Unbelievably hot," he said. She held her ass kicking face for a second or two longer than he would have liked but then she dropped it and grinned at him. 

"Oh fine, Vakarian. If my glasses do it for you I'll keep them on," she said. He only had a moment to glimpse her wicked grin before she flipped him onto his back and straddled him in a display of speed and strength that reminded him just how good she was. She pushed her glasses up her nose with a finger and Garrus groaned. She started to undo the clasps on his tunic. She nearly had it undone before he remembered that he also had hands and put them to use on the catch of her bra, unlatching it and then slipping it slowly off her shoulders, one strap at a time. He trailed his talons down her skin, content for a moment just to breathe in the sight of her.

Never in twenty odd years had he thought he would be lying in bed, staring up at Jane Shepard. He traced her sides, pads of his fingers feeling the dips between ribs that said she had been stressed lately. He let his thumbs glide just under her breasts, barely grazing over her sensitive skin and eliciting a soft gasp from her. She was staring at him, those excellent glasses halfway down her nose again, her hair - longer than it had been when they were soldiers together - tucked behind her ears. Her scars, which he hardly noticed anymore, were on full display in a way they weren't usually, a way that said she was comfortable with him and didn't mind him seeing her. She was biting her lip though and he suspected he had taken too long taking her in. 

So he sat up and kissed her, as hard as he could manage while simultaneously palming one of her nipples. Jane whined into his mouth, back arching. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and managed to finagle him out of it so it could be tossed aside. Garrus had a fleeting moment of clarity as she went for his pants and rolled her before she could get to them, so she was on her back and he was hovering over her. She didn't miss a beat, still going for his pants. He took her wrists in one hand, not missing the way her eyes darkened when he easily pinned both her hands in one of his, and leaned his hips into hers so she was effectively pinned. Jane struggled a little under him, not one for sitting idly by, but Garrus leaned on her hands until she quieted.

"Oh no you don't," he murmured. He nipped at her neck gently and she shivered all the way down to her toes. Her nipples tightened up and wasn't that intriguing. Garrus was no stranger to human anatomy - he was in his fifties and he had had a thing for a particular human for far too long not to indulge that particular fantasy - so he gently pinched her nipple between two fingers and pulled on it. Jane moaned and his plates shifted. He kissed and licked a path down Jane's skin, enjoying the way her heart sped up when she figured out where he was going and then the arch of her back as he sucked her nipple into his mouth, anxiously aware of his teeth and their potential for harm on fragile human skin. She didn't seem to mind though, and in fact when his sharp teeth grazed her flesh he was pretty sure she gasped a little louder. He alternated nipples, sucking on one and twisting the other in his free hand until Jane was writhing under him and his name hissed out from between her lips in a low moan he most definitely needed to hear again. 

"Garrus," she pleaded and bucked against his restraining hand. He glanced up at her, at her hair falling around her face, those green, green eyes trained on him with an expression of lust that he could get used to, and made an inquiring sound. He held her gaze as he released her nipple to a soft "Oh!" and slid lower still, nudging her thighs apart and releasing her hands so he could pull her panties down her legs and away. Her fingers immediately went to the back of his neck and the very sensitive underside of his fringe, where they stroked over the thin skin there and short circuited his brain. He nudged her thighs further apart and wrapped his hands around her legs, marvelling at how someone who seemed so small could have such a huge impact. Jane let him dip his head down, eyes still on hers right up until he licked a long line up her centre and her head tilted back with a groan. He hummed, she was delicious. He laved circles around her clit, alternating there with short thrusts of his tongue until Jane was gasping under him and her fingers were twitching spasmodically on his neck. Then he pressed a thumb to her clit and set up a hard pace with his tongue, thrusting into her as deep as he could and rubbing circles over her little bundle of nerves. 

"Oh fuck," Jane whispered. She became a writhing sequence of profanity mixed with gasps and desperate exclamations of his name, and he knew he had her when he had to use force to keep her hips where he wanted them and she fisted her hands into her sheets. Garrus kept up the pressure, his tongue and his thumb never letting up even as his other hand reached up and pinched her nipple. Jane came with a short cry, her hips undulating against his tongue and her eyes squeezed shut. He had never seen anything quite so beautiful. 

He let up on her, giving her a chance to recover while he took his pants off. He moved up between her legs again and aligned himself with her. He could feel the heat of her core on the tip of his cock and all he wanted was to plunge into her and take her as hard and fast as he could, but that wasn't what he had imagined for this moment. So when her eyes opened again and she squirmed her hips lower, taking an inch of him into her wet heat, he had to close his eyes and take a breath. He gripped her hips hard and slid into her slowly, inch by inch until she was squirming and it took all his willpower not to slam his length into her. Finally he was in to the hilt and he paused, letting her stretch around him. Jane groaned, a long moan that told him he wasn't the only one at the end of their willpower. She thrust down on him and he snapped his hips forward to meet her and they both gasped. It was quickly followed by Jane saying, "Garrus if you don't fuck me now so help me-" she never made it to the end of the sentence. 

Garrus stroked into her hard and Jane yelped, but pushed right back at him to reassure him that it was alright. He set up a quick pace and she matched him, her moans mingling with his and the sound of skin on plate. He hitched her knees up over his sharp hips so he could change the angle slightly, could grind deeper into her. The angle had Jane's eyes fluttering closed again and her grip on his neck tightened, which he took as a good sign. He reached down and strummed his thumb over her clit again. Her walls clenched around him and that was the end of him. Garrus could feel it building and his talons tightened on her hips, not wanting to come without her. Jane was gasping, her fingers scrabbling over his plates. She squeezed her knees into his hips and Garrus roared. He managed a couple more erratic, hard thrusts and then he came in her, pushing her over the edge with him. He groaned through the feeling of Jane clenching around him and shuddered, his cock pulsing again at the feeling. Jane rode out her orgasm and when the spasms of pleasure had subsided she draped one arm over her face and pulled him down beside her with the other. 

Garrus was happy to lie beside her, in the quiet aftermath, trailing his talons up and down her soft skin. When she opened her eyes with a soft him and smiled at him he just couldn't keep it in. 

"I love you," he murmured. Her eyes widened and she didn't say anything. He knew he should be panicking; usually he would be panicking, but he just couldn't work up the energy. She opened her mouth to respond - by the look on her face it wasn't going to be a response he wanted - so he put a finger over her lips and said, "It's alright. You don't need to. I just wanted you to know." 

He lay back on his side, which was one of the only comfortable positions in a human bed, and closed his eyes. He wasn't expecting Jane's soft, pliable lips on his forehead. 

"I love you too, you big idiot, if you'd just give me a chance to say it," she whispered. Garrus's eyes shot open. 

"Really?" He asked. She was biting her lip but in a way that said she was trying not to smile, not in her usual worried way. She nodded. Garrus suddenly had far more energy than a moment ago and he rolled up into his elbows overtop of her. 

"Say it again," he said.

She chuckled. "Someone's eager," she said. 

"Twenty seven years I've been thinking about this, Shepard. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Jane responded by wrapping her nimble fingers under his fringe again and kneading along his softer skin there. "Sounds good to me," she said. 

* 

They slept right up until their respective data pad were so full of messages the alert tones had formed a coordinated symphony in stereo from either side of the room, and it still wasn't enough sleep. They had done it again in the shower after their second round, with Garrus holding Jane's bad leg up over his hip spur and the water beating down on them, and then again when Garrus had bent over to rummage through his discarded clothes and Jane had decided that was a good enough reason to come onto him. Not that he had minded. But this morning, they were both feeling it. 

Jane reached for her data pad and shit the alerts off. Garrus, on the other hand, just covered his head with an arm and rumbled. Jane shivered. If he ever figured out what his sub harmonics did to her, she's never live it down. So she reached over and poked him in the very sensitive waist instead of climbing up on top of him like she wanted to. 

"Huhhh?" He moaned. 

"Turn your fucking data pad off," she said. Garrus flailed around the floor beside the bed until he found the offending article and turned the sound off without looking at the screen. 

"That's irresponsible, isn't it," he said. 

Jane shifted over in bed so she could curl up against his side. "Yes it is," she replied. They lay still for a couple moments, just enjoying each other's company. Eventually, they both knew, they would have to get up and start dealing with the fallout from yesterday, but for just a moment it was nice to pretend they were a normal couple. That was, right up until Tharius burst into their room. 

"Dad! Did you see the news? Oh spirits!" Tharius came careening into their room, eyes wide, subharmonics anxious, saw them, and wheeled right back out. He stopped just out of sight of the door and clearly decided to pretend he saw nothing. 

"The krogan rebels are bombarding Tuchanka!" He called. Garrus and Shepard looked at each other and then dove for their datapads. 

Shepard scrolled through her messages, all of which were panicked correspondence about the bombardment, looking for something to tell her what the fuck was going on. Nothing was forthcoming. 

"Recruit!" She bellowed. Tharius slunk back into the room, reminding her so strongly of a younger Garrus that it was a bit disconcerting. He looked anywhere but at her, though Shepard had remembered to tuck her sheets firmly around herself. 

"Report, what do you know?" She asked. Tharius seemed to grasp that he was on duty now - this was not a great way to befriend your boyfriend's son, Jane thought - and he stood up at attention.

"Just what's on the news, Commander. The krogan blockade began firing on the planet at 0700 galactic standard time and have maintained bombardment since. They also shot down three news drones in the area, which is why we're only hearing about it now. There are rumours that there were sunlight communications between the blockade fleet and the planet before the bombing started but no word on what they said. Krogan loyalists are scrambling weapons," he said. 

At some point, Shepard's mouth had dropped open. 

"You got all of that from the news?" She asked incredulously. Tharius shifted his weight on his feet and again wouldn't look at her. 

"Well... I might have tapped into the krogan comm buoys..." He said. Shepard's mouth could not open wider. She glanced over at Garrus and he looked half proud, half worried, and half angry at his son's hacking. Yes, she knew that was three halves. 

"Damnit kid you better make it through basic. You're too good not to be one of us," she muttered. Tharius's mandibles fluttered and his neck blushed blue at the compliment. 

"Ok. Go downstairs, wake Arkik up. Tell him everything you know. Set your comm hack up on the monitor in the living room and then do whatever Arkik tells you, ok?" She ordered. Tharius nodded through her instructions and then took off. As soon as he was gone Shepard got up and started getting dressed. Garrus quickly followed suit. 

"He's damn good," Shepard remarked after a couple moments of silence. Garrus's chest puffed up a little. 

"Well he is a Vakarian," he said and chuckled when she threw a pillow at him. Jane finished pulling her shirt on and walked around the bed to give Garrus a kiss.

"In all seriousness though Jane, keep him safe, ok?" Garrus said. 

Jane patted his mandible. "Always," she said. Together they made their way downstairs. Garrus branched off as soon as they hit the ground floor, already on a conference call with the other Councillors. Jane swung through the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee from the pot that some thoughtful soul had put on then made her way to the living room where Arkik and Tharius had set up camp. The salarian looked up at her briefly before returning to his bank of screens. 

"Nessa is coming over. So is the Admiralty Board. And krogan leadership. I opened up the dining room," he said. 

"Ok." The dining room had a long dinner table that could serve as a conference table if necessary, and by the sounds of it, it would be necessary. 

“Shepard, how did Garrus’s son hack a krogan comm buoy?” Arkik asked a second later. He was staring intently at the scrolling data Tharius had linked to the monitor in the living room. It was recording and displaying every piece of information that ran through the buoy, including communications from the planet to the fleet in orbit. 

“Uncle Wrex showed me how last summer,” Tharius said from the couch. Arkik blanched green because he clearly didn’t think the boy could hear him, and he was just starting to stutter out a response when the door to Shepard’s house flew open and Wrex came roaring in, dragging Captain Jorgal Strigar by the collar of his armor.


	20. The Art of Fisticuffs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shepard floats, Wrex roars, and Tharius is pleased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good grief. Every time I think my life is going to settle down for a little while, it does exactly the opposite. Anyways, I know this update is quite late, but I think I will be able to make up for it with another chapter either tomorrow or Wednesday. Chapter 21 is almost done so it should be short work! 
> 
> Thanks again everyone for being so awesome.

Shepard dove for Tharius, dragging him off the couch and out of the way of the thousands of pounds of krogan barrelling down on him. Wrex and Strigar hit the couch and went over it like an angry tree, slamming through the coffee table. Shepard checked Tharius, who looked afraid but unhurt, and then leapt for the krogans, firing up her biotics as she went. 

If there was one thing Jane Shepard loved about fighting, it was her biotics. The feeling of the eezo fueled power surging up through her skin and exploding out of her like a freight-train version of herself... There was something addicting and awesome about it. If there was anything else Jane loved about fighting- and let's be honest, there were a lot of things she liked about fighting - it was brawling. She was an Adept, which wasn't usually the brawling type, but she had learned early on that if she channelled her biotics just right, she was damn good at it. So by the time she punched Wrex, Shepard's fist was coated in blue power and she had focused that energy into a biotic throw. Her punch landed in his side and lifted Wrex off Strigar, pushing him back by a couple feet. 

“What the fuck are you doing, Wrex?” She bellowed. Then she punched Strigar, who was lying on his back from where Wrex had shoved him through the table, just to keep him down. Wrex recovered quickly, as usual, and with a roar he was back in the fight. He pushed Shepard aside and landed a good hit to Strigar's head before Shepard picked up a shattered coffee table leg and whacked him across the back of the head. It barely slowed him down, so she hit him again. 

“Wrex! Calm the fuck down and answer me!” She yelled. On the third hit the table leg broke, but a shard cut the side of Wrex’s head and he turned on her. Wrex picked her up by the neck, roaring some wordless roar of anger, and tossed Shepard at the ruined couch. She bounced off it and popped back up. It took her a second to realize she was grinning. She wasn’t stupid, she knew that this was representative of a shit storm that was about to land on her head, but for the moment, she had an excuse to punch Wrex in the face and she planned to do just that. Unfortunately, just as she was gathering her biotics to throw him across her living room - there was an ugly vase on the coffee table near the stairs that she was aiming for - a singularity field opened up in the middle of the room, her feet went out from under her and she was floating. As her head drifted past Wrex’s feet she saw the source of the biotics and crossed her arms. 

“Damn it Liara, put me down! When did you even get here?” She asked. She pushed Wrex’s feet out of her face and sent him spinning in the other direction. 

“Not until you three stop fighting. And I came as soon as I heard about the attack, of course,” Liara said. 

“Ah. Of course.” Shepard drifted up past Strigar, and took the opportunity to take a look at him. Wrex must have landed a few good shots before Liara caught up to them, because Strigar’s face was bloody and there was a long gash across his chin. 

“He betrayed us! He betrayed all krogan!” Wrex bellowed. 

“I know, Wrex. Why do you think I came here?” Liara asked. Wrex deflated like a krogan-shaped balloon that someone had just stuck a pin in. 

“You - what?” 

Jane had floated around the back of the room by this point, so that she was facing away from the entry way and towards the stairs and kitchen. And Garrus. Garrus standing with the turian equivalent of coffee in his hands and his mouth open, mandibles flared, eyebrow plates raised, looking as incredulous as it was possible for a turian to look. Jane waved at him. He nearly dropped his coffee. 

“I found out about Strigar’s connection to your rebels. I came here to tell you, but unfortunately I was late. However, I see you determined his guilt on your own, or did Jane want all her furniture destroyed?” Liara asked. Shepard craned around so she could see the asari. 

“That vase, yes. The couch, not so much.” 

Liara couldn’t help but grin a bit. “Sad news. The vase survived.” 

“I see that. Can you put us down now?” Jane asked. 

“Will you start fighting again?” 

“Yes!” Wrex yelled. “I will continue until that piece of varren shit tells me who else is involved!” 

“You did this!” It was the first Strigar had said since Wrex dragged him into the house, and now he was spinning in the singularity’s pull, gesticulating wildly. “If you hadn’t bent over for the Council, the krogan wouldn’t need to rebel! We are krogan! We are not the Council’s pets, to do what they want and then go back to krogan space with no benefits!” 

Shepard spun so she could kick Strigar, though due to the singularity there wasn’t much force to it. “What have you done, Strigar?” 

Liara’s singularity dropped then, and the three of them landed in a heap on the floor. Wrex struggled to his feet immediately and Shepard tossed a stasis field over him from her awkward position on the floor, not wanting to get caught in Liara’s biotics again. Liara was helpful enough to put a stasis field on Strigar and Jane stood up between the two stuck krogans and brushed herself off. 

“Arkik, get a Strat team over here to arrest former Captain Jorgul Strigar,” Shepard ordered. 

“Already on their way,” he said. 

“Good. Then stun his ass and let’s tie him up,” she said. Liara hit Strigar with a warp field and knocked him out. Shepard let the stasis field on Wrex lap and wasn't surprised when the old krogan marched over to Strigar's limp body and Wrex kicked it with a toe. “Get his feet, Shepard,” he grumbled. 

*

By the time Jorgul Strigar woke up, the T’soni-Shepard vacation house had turned into grand central station. All of the Councillors had arrived with their assistants, grabbed Garrus and Wrex, and holed up in the dining room. Their assistants took over the kitchen table. When the Admiralty board arrived they went into the dining room with the Councillors, and Shepard steered as far clear of there as possible. Liara had Tharius show her how he hacked into the krogan comm buoy, then showed him how to clear up the feed so he could get more accurate data from it. GP leaders started filtering in slowly, and they set up in the living room with Shepard, Tharius, and Liara. Tharius had tried to leave when it became clear that they were about to have a meeting which he shouldn’t be privy too, but Shepard kept him in his seat. By the time Strigar woke up, the GP were well into a debate over the krogan problem, and for the krogan in question, it would not have been a pleasant sight to wake up to. 

Everyone stopped and stared at him. Liara’s biotics danced blue around her hands and at least one person was fiddling with a gun. The implication was very clear that if he ran he would barely lift his ass out of his chair before he was taken back down. 

"How are you feeling?" Director Rumbold asked. It had been determined beforehand that Marsden Rumbold should be the one to question the Captain. Shepard was too volatile, being quite hurt by his apparent betrayal, and the other leaders deferred to the strategist. 

Strigar didn't say anything. 

“Well. This is a bit of a turn around. Usually, you’re so outspoken. But I suppose being caught out as the traitor responsible for the ongoing deaths of hundreds of his own people might make you a little… thoughtful. Very well. I’ll talk, and you’ll listen.” Rumbold sat down on the edge of the coffee table in front of Strigar. From Shepard’s vantage, it was a bit of an absurd sight. Rumbold barely cleared five and a half feet tall and Strigar was exceptionally large, even for a krogan. It looked like he should be intimidating the Director, but there was no doubt who was in charge of this situation. Rum placed his elbows on his knees and leaned down, staring up at Strigar with his dark, piercing eyes. 

“You have accomplished nothing.” It was a statement of fact, no inflection, no hint of an attempt to rile the krogan up. “Krogan loyalists are returning fire on the fleet in orbit and the turian armada is moving in to assist. By this time tomorrow your rebels’ attempt at a coup will be nothing but a memory and a problem for the clean up teams. You have accomplished nothing.” 

It worked. Strigar strained against his ties and Liara stood up, biotics flashing around her. “It is not a coup attempt! It is an attempt to take what is ours! We are krogan! We are not your lapdogs, to be pulled out when needed and put away when it’s inconvenient! Your kind and the rest of the Council races have always treated krogan as second class citizens and we will not stand for it anymore! The Urdnot clan would drive krogan to their knees!” 

It took all of Shepard’s willpower not to punch him in the head with a biotic-fueled fist. “And what about the Peacekeepers, Strigar? You’ve been one of our best Captains. Are you telling me all those years of service were just a cover? That you never believed in our cause?” She asked. 

Strigar raised his head so he could look her in the eyes and spat on her floor. 

The room came alive. Unfortunately for everyone standing and drawing weapons or firing up biotics, Rumbold was closest. He stood up, spinning as he went. The flat of his foot hit the side of Strigar’s head with a wicked thud, and the krogan plus the chair he was sitting on toppled to the floor. Then Rum knelt on his neck with one leg. 

“You are nothing. You have accomplished nothing. Now you will go away, into a deep dark hole, where you will rot away to nothing. You have failed,” he hissed. He nodded at the Strategy team positioned around the room and they came over to get Jorgul Strigar. Strigar struggled to sit up as they untied him from the chair and cuffed him, cursing all of them as he went. 

“Your GP is going to fall, Shepard! The galaxy has never worked together! Never! You stopped the Reapers but you never stopped the war!” He shouted until he was pulled out of the house. 

There was an audible silence after he was gone. The peacekeepers looked from one to the other, all still half standing, weapons out. Shepard was the first to sit, returning to the couch with a sigh and a gust of air through her bangs. The others relaxed one by one, but still the room was quiet. 

It was Arkik who broke the silence. “Commander, we have a report in from the Recon team on Tuchanka. Would you like it up on the screen?” 

She looked over at him, lost in her own thoughts. He too looked sad, his normally grey-green skin more green than usual. “Hm? Yes please,” she said. He did it, pushing the report from his datapad onto the monitor in the living room so the GP present could read it. Then he came to the couch and sat down beside Shepard, squeezing between her and the Director of Construction. He reached over and patted her hand where it sat on her leg. Shepard wrapped her five fingers around his three and squeezed her appreciation. It wasn’t so much the betrayal that hurt - though that did hurt - it was Strigar’s comments on the GP. Shepard had worked her entire life for unity in the galaxy, first with the Alliance and then on her own with her own creation. To be told by someone she had thought shared her goals that he didn’t believe in the cause… it shook her. And of course, Arkik picked up on all of that and once again, offered his support. She smiled a small, sad smile over at him and was relieved when he did his best to return it. 

“Recon 17 has been on Tuchanka for two weeks. They have had intel coming in from Shadow Broker sources and others that has led them to search for the leaders of the krogan rebellion, but until the rebel fleet appeared in orbit yesterday they weren’t having any luck. Thanks to Cadet Vakarian’s initiative this morning we have been monitoring the comm buoys in the Krogan DMZ and comm traffic indicates that the Jorgul clan, with some allies, are responsible for the majority of the ships in orbit,” Arkik explained. 

Shepard scanned through the report, half listening to Arkik field questions from a few of the others. The report stated that Recon 17 had a lead on the rebel leadership planetside, and were moving to better scout the location.

“When was this filed?” Shepard asked, cutting off another question. 

“Six hours ago. It was passed through three proxy buoys and encrypted. No quantum link available.” 

“Any word on their location now?” 

“No. This is the latest report. They are the only ground team on Tuchanka at the moment.” 

“Ok. Arkik, interrupt the Councillors’ meeting, please. We’re going to move on this now and they’ll probably want to know. You know, so they can start squabbling,” Shepard instructed. Arkik smirked and pushed himself off the couch to fetch the brass in the dining room. 

“Cadet Vakarian, how familiar are you with data collection and collation?” Shepard asked. 

Tharius blinked from his corner of the living room, all wide eyes and nerves. “I-I’m okay at it… I think?” His voice lilted up on the end like it was a question. 

“Commander, why is this Cadet even here?” The Director of Transport, an asari pilot who was excessively good at her job but constantly at odds with Shepard, asked. 

Before Shepard could answer though Rumbold leaned around her and replied, “He’s the Cadet who found the information in the first place, Hasina, and he’s quite good.” Rum looked at Tharius, ignoring Hasina’s protest. “Vakarian, can you collect and collate the data coming through the krogan comm buoy?” 

Tharius straightened his back and squared his shoulders. “I can.” He sounded at least a little bit more sure this time. Shepard was proud of him. 

“Good,” she said, “move the report and the comm link to my study upstairs. You can use my terminal to keep on it. Send any updates to me and Arkik, alright?” It was clear she was dismissing him from the room but he didn’t argue with her. He just did as she asked, probably still too shell shocked by everything he had been able to witness so far.

“Alright. Now. We need a plan, people,” Shepard said. 

“We might be able to help with that, Shepard,” Wrex’s deep rumble floated out across the living room. He was standing in the hall from the dining room at the head of a long line of official looking folks. 

Jane sighed. “Alright. Grab chairs from the kitchen and come on in. I want to get this nightmare wrapped up by dinner time.”


	21. The Art of Scouting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Benezia T'soni-Shepard dislikes flying, her teammate likes her, and her commander doesn't like anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! We're almost there, folks! I figure maybe a few more chapters and an epilogue. Probably. Let me know in the comments if there's a particular story you'd like to see next, because I am fresh out of ideas. 
> 
> Thanks!  
> -AO

“Bring it in slow, Shii,” Benezia T’soni Shepard said to her pilot. The Mantis gunships were notoriously tough to handle, and they did not like atmosphere entry. Recon 21 was spread between two gunships for this mission, and a few moments ago they and six other Mantises had been launched from a Transport frigate just past Aralakh’s asteroid belt. The frigate would now be hiding in the asteroid belt, out of range of the armada floating around Tuchanka while it waited for the rest of the turian fleet to arrive. Apparently it took more time for the turians to scramble an army than it did for the GP frigate to deliver the Recon group assigned to find and terminate the heads of the rebel group. The gunships had kept their burns low until they had floated in past the armada’s sensors, and now were booking it towards the planet. If they were very lucky, they wouldn’t be spotted. 

“I know, Ben,” Shiiya Davi growled. She was a good pilot and well used to ignoring her Captain’s anxiety when flying. She dragged the Mantis’s wobblingly erratic nose around to a slower entry heading, so as not to burn out the ship’s engines upon reaching atmo. Theoretically, the Mantis had been built to be able to do surface to space or reverse, but in practice, it didn’t like it. It required particular handling, which Shiiya was more than capable of, Ben knew. She checked her monitor again for their teammates and found them in perfect formation to her left. Talyth Krul and Zakary Overland made up the other half of Recon 21, the team Ben commanded and was terribly proud of. They were working with three other Recon teams to assault the last transmitted position of Recon 17, who had sent an encrypted message several hours ago with coordinates of a confirmed target. 

It had been decided by the Council, the Admiralty Board, and the GP leadership that a small strike team of elite Recon personnel would be sent in to neutralize the krogan rebel leadership, but as usual, they wouldn't be working alone. Commander Shepard hated to send in GP without the assistance of the race they were working with, and so the strike team was headed down to coordinates to meet up with a group of krogan loyalists dispatched by Wrex. That way Wrex didn’t have to field as many claims that he couldn’t handle his own people and the rest of the Council races were satisfied that the GP was there for damage control if necessary. 

"Recon 11, watch your entry trajectory, you're burning too much on your left wingtip," Their radio chattered. Ben identified the voice as Captain Junia, the turian leader of Recon 3. Both Recon 11 gunships levelled out at the order. Technically, the captain of Recon 20 was in command of this mission, what with Eric Salman having the most experience of all of them, but Junia was a bit of a loudmouth. Luckily Salman was more than capable of handling her. 

"3, please maintain radio silence until we break atmo," he rumbled. The chatter from the rest of the teams cut off. The gunships were small enough that slipping past the krogan patrols around the planet hadn’t been difficult, but this part would be the part that decided whether they made it planetside undetected or not. Their heat signatures would be impossible to mask as they started their atmosphere entry, since the shielding on the Mantises wasn’t great. If the krogans were looking their way they would pick them up on sensors immediately. 

“Entering the troposphere in 3-2-1,” Salman said. Ben bit her lip. She hated this part. 

Her Mantis dipped into the planet’s troposphere, the third layer of it’s atmosphere. The troposphere was where the gases that made up Tuchanka’s air started to thicken, and it was where the ships would encounter the first real air resistance. The Mantis rumbled and shook as it’s underside heated up and it was buffeted by high winds. Shiiya clenched the joysticks tight and steadied the ship as much as possible. 

“Increase coolant circulation by ten percent,” Shiiya ordered. Ben punched the controls to push more coolant through the thick bottom plates of the ship. Their eezo core was handling the brunt of the cooling, but they were on low-output so their emissions couldn’t be detected by the fleet above them. Through the windows, jets of orange and red burning atmosphere streamed past them, and from below they probably looked like a group of oddly shaped meteors. 

“Stratosphere in 10,” came Salman’s voice, crackly with static over the comms, “All teams prepare for spiral formation in 3-2-1.” 

Shiiya eased them into their position in the spiral, just ahead of their second ship and behind Recon 11. 

“Prepare to switch to vector-thrust engines,” Shiiya said. Ben ran through the command sequence to transition the eezo core to its planetside settings, and when Shiiya said, “Now,” the core hummed into a lower power output and their thrusters came online. 

“No sign of detection from the fleet,” Salman said, and then came the words that let Ben breathe, “we’re clear. Good flying, folks. Okay, 3 and 11, take the left flank and run a sweep for ground interference before we reach our friends. 21, follow us to the right.” 

A chorus of affirmatives echoed back at him and the four teams split up. Shiiya tilted their nose down so they could see the ground and then fired their thrusters, pushing them along after Salman’s team. Ben enabled all of their sensor arrays to try to pick up any ground threats before they reached their coordinates, but nothing came up. The krogan had said their position was secure, but it never hurt to be sure. 

It was about a half hour before they were landing at the site, which was little more than a gaping tunnel mouth a few kilometers south of the now defunct Shroud facility. Recon 20 hailed the facility as they approached and the krogans told them to fly on in, so in they went. Ben was hard-pressed not to close her eyes. For a Recon scout who spent an inordinate amount of time flying, she didn’t particularly like it ,and she especially didn’t like flying indoors. 

Shiiya piloted them down the tunnel easily though, and pretty soon their teams were setting down in the hangar of an old bunker. During Tuchanka’s nuclear winter, centuries ago, they had moved basically their entire population underground into bunkers like these, and even now some of the clans still used the underground sites as camps. If the hangar was any indication, this bunker was enormous. 

Ben and Shiiya sped through their shut-down routines and as soon as the hatch of the Mantis popped open Benezia was out of there, shouldering her weapons and jumping down to the hangar floor. Krul and Zak were waiting for them. Zak grinned his lopsided, cocky grin at her and Ben couldn’t help but grin back. The human - and wasn’t he tall for a human, she thought - was infectiously happy and sarcastic, a combination Ben appreciated. He lightened up their team. Ben and Shiiya walked over to the boys and the team went through their usual rapid equipment check. Once satisfied, they moved off to join up with the other teams and the krogan squad waiting for them. On the way, Zak shifted so he was walking beside her and touched her elbow. She glanced up at him. There weren’t many people she had to look up to, being quite tall herself, but Zak still had a couple inches on her. 

“You good?” He murmured. “I know you don’t like flying.” 

Ben flushed a little. “Of course. You?” She wasn’t sure why she asked. Zak could spend all day in a little gunship and come out happy as a clam. 

“Yup.” He grinned again and stayed by her side until they reached the others. 

Eric Salman, a middle aged man with sunken eyes, a receding hairline that he had given up and just shaved, and a body that could only be described as stout, had set up a portable holo deck on the hood of a Mako. He spotted Ben and motioned her over. The other Captains split to make a spot for her. They were looking at a map of Tuchanka, trying to determine the best route to their targets. 

“We’re here,” Salman was saying, “and the rebel leadership are supposedly here.” He pointed at two locations, and Benezia realized she shouldn’t be surprised that the rebels were holed up in the ruins of the Shroud. How symbolic. Mumsy would be pissed. 

“Question,” Junia said, “Are we sure Recon 17’s intel is good? Why would the rebel leadership be on the ground instead of out in the fleet?” 

“Because it makes sense,” Salman said, his tone indicating that she should have figured that out for herself. When it was clear she had not, he continued. “They’ve been planetside for a while, planning their attacks and causing trouble for the allied clans. They had to know that the turian armada would come to break the blockade, so if they indicate that they are in the ships the Council races would have no reason to look on the ground for them. Then if the blockade breaks they can rebuild from here.” 

Junia left it at that. The captain of Recon 11, a salarian called Row, smirked at her. Salman forged on. “Junia, Row, are you two capable of working together without killing each other?” He asked. The krogan scouts chuckled. 

Both Junia and Row looked offended. “Of course,” Row said. Junia nodded. 

“Good. Then your teams will take air support. We’ll set up ground crews here and… here, along this rover track. You’ll wait here until dark and take the gunships in on a slow burn. I don’t want them running hot, got it? Park ‘em just behind our forward position, make sure they’re hidden. Wait for our signal and we’ll have you running bombing and interception. Up to you how you divy that up. Good?” They nodded. “Good. 21, you’re with us on ground. Take point, scout out the Shroud. I want intel on their position, as much detail as possible. If anything moves an eyebrow out there, I want to know about it. Find some good sniper posts and set your crew up for the morning. We’ll assault then.” Ben grinned. Scouting and sniping were her specialty. Much better than flying. “Our krogan allies here are from clan Drau, and they will be the main assault group. You’ll move up through here-” he traced a route to the Shroud on the map, highlighting it green “and set up with the gunships for the morning. Everyone clear?” The captains were all nodding along with him. 

“Good. Keep radio contact to a minimum, don’t forget your call signs, and for God’s sake don’t be seen. This is a covert op, people, the last thing we need is some asshole spotting us and setting the whole thing off. Alright. Gear up and move out.” 

Ben walked back over to her team, who were standing a few feet away. “You all heard that, I suppose?” She asked. Of course they did. Good Recon scouts never passed up an opportunity to overhear something important. They all smiled at her. This was Ben’s favorite part of a mission, when they were all getting ready and flying high on adrenaline and anticipation. She knew they would come down as soon as they had spent a couple hours in a sniper perch, but until then, the excitement would carry them through. 

“Then let’s go,” she said. She waved at Salman on their way out and he gave her a very serious nod, his sunken eyes following them out of the hangar. 

Outside the hangar doors the Tuchankan jungle had completely taken over whatever buildings had been here before the nuclear war of the distant past. The jungle was threatening to overtake the hangar as well, but clearly it was being held back for now. Ben pulled up a map on her omnitool to check the terrain. She sighed. It looked like this area had been part of a massive city that stretched nearly to the Shroud itself, which meant they would be dealing with infrastructure as well as jungle. Perfect. 

“Okay. Krul, Shiiya, take flanks. Zak, you’re on point. I’ll follow up. We’re in old city terrain pretty much right up to the Shroud, so just because it looks like stable jungle doesn’t mean there isn’t a fucking basement under it or something. Be careful. We’re looking for sniper perches, so keep your eyes open. Odds are any good spots are already full of angry krogan. No offense Krul.” The big krogan shrugged it off. With barely a word, the team split up and melted off into the jungle. Ben checked her omnitool map, confirming that she could see the little beacons from each of her teammates before she too followed them off into the dense forest. 

 

She had been right. The terrain was shit, and the jungle was deceptive. It had taken them nearly two hours to traverse the couple kilometers to the Shroud facility, when it should have been a twenty minute walk on a nice day. Krul had nearly fallen into a pit that they couldn’t see the bottom of and they had had to pull Zak off a crumbling ledge, and Ben was getting more than a little antsy. She just wanted to be in a secure sniping perch, her Widow on her shoulder and ready to fire. The closer they got to the ruin of the Shroud the more her nerves built up, until she was a ball of jumpy energy. 

At the two-hour mark, the Shroud finally came into view. Her mothers had told her stories of the Shroud and their mission there during the war, but the stories didn’t come close to the reality of the thing. It was clear it had been enormous, and now the spire that had once dispersed the genophage and later its cure was just a broken tooth of stone and metal in the Tuchankan skyline. This was the story her mumsy had always had trouble finishing telling, the one where a good man died and her mothers hadn’t been able to save him. And now she was back here, trying to save people once again. 

“Mumsy, if you can hear me… you did good,” Ben whispered. She knew somewhere Jane Shepard was watching the beacons of her teams move across the map of Tuchanka, and she was probably sitting and stewing in her fear, feeling like a failure for being in a safe living room and not down here. Ben knew her comm wasn’t transmitting and her omnitool wasn’t recording, but she couldn’t help but feel like her mother could hear her. 

“Ben, I’ve got a possible sniper perch,” her comm crackled with Zak’s voice. He read out a map heading to her and she moved so she could see the spot he was talking about. She kept to the shadow of a tall tree, shouldering her Widow so she could use the scope like binoculars and get a good look. The potential spot Zak was interested in was an old tower with a bank of windows facing the Shroud. It looked like concrete construction, which was good for them, and was high enough to offer good angles on anyone coming out of the Shroud facility. 

“Good call. Scout it,” she ordered. She spotted him moving across an empty road and then he disappeared into the warren of low buildings near the tower. Ben laid herself down on the jungle floor beside her tree and set her sniper rifle up on a protruding root so she could line up her shot. If Zak was had found that perch, chances were a krogan had already been there. 

“You’re covered,” she said. She stared down her scope, moving from window to window. 

“I’ve got nothing,” she said. 

“Going in,” Zak whispered. She couldn’t see him and that was worrying. She kept her eyes on the building through her scope, hoping against hope that the tower was empty and all she would see in the window was Zak’s dark hair and lopsided smile. But a second later there was a movement and the distinct green of krogan in a window further down the building than she had been looking - they had heard Zak and were going to greet him. 

“Incoming, Zak, at least one,” she said. She lined up on the next window, hoping the krogan would have to pass there to get to him. A tip of a green head poked into view and she shot, satisfied when the krogan stepped into view just in time for her bullet to impact the side of his head. She shot again, just to be sure - krogans were tough bastards - and the krogan fell. 

“Down,” she said. 

“I see him. Nice shot, boss. Coming through, don’t shoot me,” Zak teased. He ducked through the window where the krogan had just been and she tracked him through the building until he was in the top corner. 

“Clear. You want a team up here or just little old me?” Zak asked. 

“Shiiya, Krul, how’s it looking?” Ben asked the others. 

“Found a perch about three hundred meters from your position, Ben. Shiiya’s moving to assist,” Krul said. “We’ll hole up here.” 

“Ok. Flag us when you’re in position so we don’t shoot you. Run sweeps every half hour,” Ben ordered. Krul chuckled in response. Ben folded her sniper rifle down again and clipped it onto the back of her armor, preferring to have her assault rifle in her hands when moving through tight urban areas. Fortunately, she didn’t need it in the distance between her and Zak’s perch. She climbed up the broken stairs into the tower with him, returning his grin when she poked her head up the stairwell to the top floor and found the barrel of his gun pointed at her. They moved some rubble into the stairwell to make it a bit more difficult to get to them, and then they set up in the corner. From there they had 180 degree view of the surrounding area. 

“Wanna take first watch, or shall I?” Zak asked. Ben considered. 

“I’ll do it. You spot,” she said. Zak set up his targeting sights so they panned back and forth over the terrain and then settled back into his corner. 

“So. What’s new, boss?” He asked, grinning to show her he was teasing. She glanced up at his dancing blue eyes and flushed a little, again. 

“I’m going to go do a sweep,” she muttered, and headed back down the stairs, trying to ignore his smirk and the way his eyes followed her out. This was going to be a long night.


	22. The Art of Mopping Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Benezia is grumpy, and then Benezia is focused, and then Benezia is afraid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well folks, this is almost it! This is the last actual chapter of this series, and then there will be an epilogue, and then we're done! I'm so thankful to all of you who have been sticking with this story, it has meant the world to me to see your kudos and your comments as we've gone along. Thank you thank you thank you. 
> 
> This chapter is again from Ben's perspective, but the epilogue will be all Shepard and Garrus. Stay tuned for that. And if there are any more stories you'd like to see in this world or any other, let me know! 
> 
> Love, AO

Benezia T'soni-Shepard did not like being proven right. She was a pessimist by nature, like her mother. Liara spent too much time staring at her shadow screens, orchestrating the galaxy and seeing its seedy underbelly to be an optimist, and Benezia had followed in those pragmatic, often negative footsteps. That did mean though that when she was proven right that it was usually a bad thing. 

They had set off at dawn, like planned. Ben had been on edge all night, part from nerves at the prospect of being attacked and part as a reaction to Zak's easy attention. He was the newest member of Recon 21, having been with them only six or eight months, but he had jelled with the group and was unerringly excellent in the field. He had also been flirting with her since day 1, even though back then she had been seeing that turian captain. Ben had ignored it for the most part but lately she had been reacting a bit more than she expected. So naturally he was partially to blame for her being slightly off her game that morning. 

They had linked up with Krul and Shiiya and made contact with Salman, who had moved in with their krogan allies overnight. Apparently everything had gone to plan and everyone was in position, so their assault started as soon as the Aralakh sun crested over the horizon. 21 crept up on the Shroud quickly and quietly, gaining ground without sporting a trace of their enemies. By the time the base of the Shroud facility came into view Ben's senses were all tingling, and she was hit with a wave of relief when Zak murmured, "This isn't right," over their comms. 

"Anyone else feel like we're about to get fucking rocked?" Ben asked. The team grunted their agreement and a split second later Ben was proven right and she was yelling at the team to find cover from the RPG shells shrieking towards them. Ben dove behind a crumbling wall and Zak skidded in after her just before the RPG hit the ground between them and the others. Zak heaved himself sideways onto her, shielding her from the worst of the blast. He grunted.

“Up!” Krul roared. Their team had been fighting together long enough to have their battle communications down to monosyllables. Krul meant that he was unhurt and he was returning fire, but it was more efficient just to bellow “Up!” and be on about it. 

“Up!” Shiiya seconded. The pat-pat-pat of gunfire rolled out from their position. Ben locked eyes with Zak briefly and noted that his eyes were squinting in what was clearly a pain grimace. 

“You’re hit,” she said, not caring that she was on comms. Zak grinned a grin that was mostly grimace and stood up, shouldering his rifle and peering down the scope. She noted the tear in his right greave and the whirring of his armor that meant his medigel was patching it up. 

“Up,” he said, forestalling the worried chatter of the others. 

Ben growled and followed him up. “Up,” she said. She put her Widow to her shoulder and looked around. The others had cleared whoever shot the RPG at them, but Ben suspected that wouldn’t be the last time they faced artillery fire. At the base of the Shroud she could see an object that looked suspiciously like a gunship, and if that was true, then their skies were about to get a lot more crowded. She switched her comm back to the band she shared with Salman. 

“Sal, we’ve got gunships at the Shroud. Looks like they’re getting ready to come out and play,” she said. 

Eric Salman swore like a sailor. “Just fucking great. Alright. Junia, Row, you’re up. Get in the air. Get them out of the air. Clear?” 

The other two Captains chimed their agreement and the band went quiet. 

“We’re closing in, T’soni. Leapfrog strategy. Hold until we pass. Clear?” Salman asked. 

“Roger,” she said. She swapped back to her squad’s band. 

“Ok people, we’re going to play a little Recon leapfrog. Spread out and dig in.” 

 

Recon 20 caught up to them in record time, and Ben was left wondering just how badly Salman had wanted to get away from their krogan allies, who were, as he said, “Bringing up the goddamn rear.” 20 swarmed out and past them under the relative cover of Recon 21’s fire, then took up new positions a few dozen metres closer to the Shroud. As soon as they were popping in and out of cover, their fire keeping the krogan pinned with their heads down, 21 moved out and up. Leapfrogging was a tried-and-true approach technique, if a little unimaginative. In this way, the two teams bounced all the way to the base of the Shroud, picking off surprisingly few krogan on their way. 

About halfway there, the gunships Ben had spotted lifted off and passed over them, strafing their position before refocusing on the Mantis gunships edging up out of the jungle behind them. Ben had to smile at that. She liked when air support actually did its job and kept things a bit quieter for them on the ground. 

At the base of the Shroud, when they had dispatched the little resistance that had been left out for them, 20 and 21 linked up. 

“That was too damn easy, T’soni. Bet you dollars to donuts they’re holed up in there like rats in a cave, waiting for us to come in,” Salman said when she loped over to where he was waiting in a burnt out building as close to the Shroud as they were comfortable getting. 

“I think you’re right,” she said, “but they said in, so in we go, right?” 

“Huh. In we go indeed,” he grumbled. Then he got on the comms. “Junia, we could use a hole.” He rattled off their coordinates and then threw a lazy mockery of a salute at Ben before running back to his team, well out of the blast range. Ben did the same. A moment later, Junia’s gunship was streaming down on them, loosing two missiles and banking hard right around the broken spear of the Shroud. 

“Good luck,” Junia said before circling off to link back up with her team. 

Salman’s tactic had worked. The krogan that had been waiting for them to come in the main doors were taken off guard by said doors exploding at them, and were easy pickings for two elite Recon squads with sniper rifles. Salman’s squad went in on the right flank, and Ben’s went in on the left. Once inside, it was easy to see why this building was defunct. Soot lines and cracks ran through every inch of the walls, and what was left of the structure was hanging on by threads only. It looked like the krogan who had chosen this as their symbolic place of last stand had tried to do some repairs, or at least some shoring up so the place didn’t come crashing down on them, but had had limited success. Here and there braces had been anchored into the walls to hold them up, but on the whole it was pretty clear that this place wasn’t going to last long. 

Ben looked around in not a little awe as they went. It was hard to get her mothers to talk about the Reaper War, and even harder to get them to talk about Tuchanka. Her mothers had lost a lot of friends to the war, and no one she knew had come out of it unscathed, but this place held a deeper hurt for them. It was easy to see why. Ben had seen pictures of the Shroud before the cure had been deployed and the tower destroyed; it had been magnificent. Now it was little more than ruins and rocks. They never really got away from it, the wreckage of the war. Not really. 

Every time they rounded a corner they ran into resistance, but less than she had expected and never enough to worry them for long. One of the krogan did manage a lucky shot at Shiiya, grazing her right hip and forcing them to pause briefly to apply medigel, but she was their only casualty as they moved deeper into the structure. Ben was beginning to expect that they had poured every bit of resources they had into the blockade around the planet and that that was their last ditch effort at forcing the Council into giving them more planets. The whole plot stank of desperation: the desperation of people trying to wrest power from a far superior force, the desperation of people trying to cling to old ideals that they thought should be more helpful than they actually were. There was a reason Wrex and the Urdnot clan was still in power on Tuchanka; they were progressive and they were achieving results, if slower than some others wanted. As much as Benezia supported the GP’s mandate of not choosing sides in wars, of not becoming the Council’s lapdogs, she had to admit that these krogan were only going to get people hurt. They were getting people hurt. 

They were about ten minutes into the Shroud when they finally found the type of resistance they were expecting. They scoped down an apparently empty hallway and Shiiya had the presence of mind to haul Ben’s ass backwards by one arm when she tried to step out, some sixth sense telling her that that was a very bad idea. As soon as the krogan caught a glimpse of her they poured bullets down the hallway, turning the space between the two walls into a haze of bullets and smoke. 

“Thanks,” Ben said. Shiiya grinned at her. 

“Options?” Salman barked from behind her. All eight of their people were clustered behind one wall without sight lines on the enemy and no apparent break in the outpouring of angry bullets. 

“Barrier?” Zak asked but the asari were already shaking their heads.

“Won’t hold long enough,” Shiiya said. 

“Biotic grenade?” One of Salman’s people offered. Shiiya and Ben exchanged glances. 

“Could do. Can you hold a barrier around my head long enough for me to get eyes on?” Shiiya asked. Ben nodded. She handed her gun to Zak and cracked her knuckles. 

“Okay. 3,2,1” To her immense credit Shiiya didn’t hesitate. It was impressive as hell, the amount of trust she had in her teammate. Ben threw the biotic barrier around all of Shiiya’s exposed body and gritted her teeth against the onslaught. The krogan focused in on them and Ben could feel her biotic barrier weakening with every shot. Shiiya was targeting and Ben groaned, forcing more energy into the shield. 

“Hurry!” She shouted. Shiiya tossed and Krul hauled her backwards, just seconds before Ben lost her barrier. The grenade went off almost immediately, and the bullets stuttered to a halt. Zak passed her her gun without a word, though his eyes scanned her as if looking for cracks. He wouldn’t find any. Salman and his team leapfrogged them seamlessly and took up positions further up the hallway, picking their targets. Ben took a breath and put her gun back up. 

Between the two teams they cleared the hall in moments, thanks to the krogan being off balance from the grenade. As soon as the last bit of resistance was neutralized it became clear what they were guarding. A large, slightly warped steel door stood slightly ajar at the end of the hall. 

“According to schematics this is the control hall. There used to be an elevator shaft that led up to the top of the Shroud, to the control hub where the genophage was dispersed from. The hall is all that’s left,” Shiiya said, consulting her omnitool. They moved up to the door and Krul took a quick look in. He whipped his head back just as fast. 

“Four krogan, plus guards. They’re on us,” he said. Which meant that as soon as they opened that door the krogan would have them in their sights. There was no where to hide in this hall, and Ben was tapped out on the biotics. That barrier had been tough to hold against all that fire and she doubted she could manage a bigger one now. 

“Then we hit hard and fast. Hope your kinetic shields are up to snuff, folks,” Salman said. He put his eye to his scope and nodded to Krul to open the door. Krul pulled it open towards himself, so that he was tucked in behind the door. Ben took cover beside him, popping in and and out to fire at the krogan in the room. Salman took advantage of the cover to move up into the room and duck behind the closest terminal. 

The four krogan in the room were well-armed, and it was abundantly clear they weren’t going down without a fight. Nevertheless, GP policy said they had to try. 

“Clan Jorgul, Clan Weyrloc, you are under arrest by the Galactic Peacekeeper force. Stand down and submit yourselves to justice,” Salman boomed. 

“Never!” Came the eloquent reply. Ben snorted. That went about as well as she had expected. Apparently Salman had thought it might go that way too, because he popped up out of cover and fired out into the room. 

“You will not be harmed if you lay down your weapons now,” He added for good measure. 

“Fuck you, pyjak!” 

Salman growled. Ben tapped Zak and the two of them moved in, Ben in the lead and Zak covering her right side while she covered his left. They found cover behind a nearly defunct pillar. Ben sighted on a krogan further down the hall, a big red-foreheaded bastard with a shotgun he was insistent on firing every which way. She aimed for the spot on his forehead where his plate ended and his hide began and pulled the trigger. When he fell she was flooded by that slightly nauseating euphoria of a job well done, a shot well made. Then the anxiety over feeling good about killing someone. The eternal struggle, her mumsy called it. She usually looked sad when she said it, like she was borrowing the words from someone who couldn’t say them anymore. 

“Spot,” Zak said. Ben pushed some power into her shields and ducked out of cover, looking around until she spotted a krogan to their north east who was enough out of cover from their angle to hit. She pulled her head back in before anyone got a shot off at her. 

“Northeast about 30 degrees,” she said. Zak leaned his head into his scope and lined it up before he stepped out. It was like watching a dancer - he stepped out, fired, and stepped back in the space of seconds, without having to take the time to line up his shot once he was exposed. Ben leaned her head out again. 

“Again,” she said. The krogan was searching for the origin point of Zak’s shot so their window was closing. He turned his head and she said, “Now!” Zak stepped, fired, stepped back. The krogan dropped. They grinned at each other. Ben readied her own rifle. 

“Spot,” she asked. Zak leaned out. 

“East 40 degrees,” he said, pulling back in. “No shields.” 

So susceptible to biotics. Ben pulled up her remaining biotic power and channeled it into a singularity, which she threw the second she stepped out from behind their pillar. It collided with the krogan in question and he found himself floating, which she suspected would have been very disappointing at this juncture. A rapid succession of gunfire quickly found its way to the floating krogan and he went down. 

“Final targets,” Salman said over the comm. Zak exchanged another of his infectious grins with her and brought up his gun, leaning out of cover to get a look. She had a split second to see the look of shock on his face as a bullet thudded into his chest, very high and very close to being considered his throat. He stumbled backwards and she just managed to catch him and wheel him into cover before he lost his feet and slid down their pillar to the floor. He was pouring blood, bright red and slick all over his armor. 

“Zak’s hit!” She bellowed. Krul’s answering roar promised very bad things for anyone left standing and a moment later came the thud of his massive forehead impacting what she presumed was someone else’s body. She wasn’t exactly wasting time thinking about it. She was on her knees beside Zak, her hands scrabbling to find a way to put pressure on the hole in his neck while not suffocating him. She found a packet of medigel in her armor and pulled it out, gripping the edge between her teeth and ripping it off, ignoring the metallic tang of blood in her mouth. She squeezed the entire tube onto his wound and then clamped her hand back over it, trying to think if she had anything else she could use to stop the bleeding. The medigel would work as a coagulant but with where the hole was she wasn’t sure it could work quickly enough. 

Then a hand was offering her a roll of bandage and she took it, unrolling it carelessly and packing it onto his neck. 

“Come on, Zak, come on,” she whispered. She wrapped the ends of the bandage around his neck and tied it on tight enough to keep pressure but hopefully not tight enough to hinder his breathing. He was having trouble enough with that already. 

“Row’s on his way. Transport’s on alert. They’re moving a frigate with medical into position now,” A voice was saying. It registered as Shiiya, which meant their enemies were all dead. Ben nodded and kept her hands on his neck, hoping to whatever gods were listening that it would be good enough. His eyes, mercifully, stayed closed. 

It seemed like hours before Shiiya told her that Row was waiting. She remembered, vaguely, screaming at Krul to pick Zak up and get him outside, then remembered running with him and Shiiya back through the maze of passages in the Shroud to the hole they had blown in the side a lifetime ago. Row had the dome of the Mantis up already and Krul lowered Zak into the passenger seat, strapping him in carefully. Row passed them the emergency floats and they positioned them around Zak’s head so that it wouldn’t move so much in flight. 

It was pointless to ask if she could go with them, the gunship only sat two and Row was already suited up and ready for take off, but Ben wanted to ask anyways. Shiiya gripped her hand tight in her own until the lid on the ship closed and they took off. They watched the ship until it was a speck in the sky and then until it had disappeared. Ben sagged. Shiiya slung an arm around her and held her. 

“He’ll be okay. You did good, Ben. He’ll be okay,” she whispered, stroking a hand over Ben’s forehead. Ben let herself have a moment to succumb to fear and adrenaline and then she pushed it aside, taking a deep breath and visibly regrouping. 

“Did we get them all?” She asked. Shiiya followed her lead, though her eyes said she was just as worried about their teammate. 

“Yeah. All clear.” Recon 21 made their way back into the control hall, where 20 was checking the bodies. When they entered the other team all looked at them, the fear evident on their faces. 

“He’s on his way to medical,” Ben said. They didn’t look relieved. Ben walked through the hall, doing her duty with barely a thought invested in it. Most of her mind was on a Mantis in the sky. She did her best to ignore the pool of bright red blood by the pillar and instead went to the middle of the chamber after all the bodies were confirmed dead. She looked around. The hall had a huge, gaping rip in its ceiling, and debris piles on the floor showed where the rest of the roof had ended up. The elevator shaft was nothing but a hole and a couple of corner posts. 

Ben tried to imagine her mumsy standing here, about to lose one of her friends and not knowing it. Liara had described how dedicated Jane was to the mission, how single-minded. She must have ploughed her way here, through reapers and threshers and husks to the Shroud, just so she could get the krogans’ support in the larger war. In terms of numbers, the sacrifice had been worthwhile, but Ben and her family all knew that the cost was never quite as easy to bear as the statistics. She looked around again, her eyes lingering on the pool of fresh blood in the corner. 

“Let’s blow it up,” she said. Salman looked at her sharply. 

“Are you alright?” He asked. 

“Yeah. Let’s blow it up. So it can’t hurt anyone else,” she said again. Salman stared at her. Finally a smile crossed over his dour face and he nodded. 

“Let’s blow it up.” 

 

They watched the explosion from the gunships at a safe distance. There wasn’t much left of the Shroud to blow up, but they did what they could. It exploded in a shower of orange and red fire, bits of debris leaving smoke trails through the sky. When the dust settled, all that was left was a crater and a clamor of voices on the radio asking what the hell happened. 

“We won,” Ben said, not sure if she was speaking to the comms or herself. Apparently the comms, because the voices quieted and then the cheering started. Ben listened to it for a moment then noticed the red blinker on her omni-tool indicating a message on another channel. She switched over. 

“Justin here from Medical Transport Rubicon. Your teammate is stable and waiting for you. I repeat, he is stable and awake. You are cleared to dock at earliest convenience.” Ben read through it twice to make sure she wasn’t making it up, then switched back to the common band and let the cheering wash over her. She grinned.


	23. The Art of Not-Endings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shepard is proud, Garrus is proud, and Tharius gets stuck again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it!!! The epilogue!! As all epilogues should be, this is right and truly cheesy. I loved writing this story, and I'm so happy with the response it's gotten. All of you have been wonderful, and I hope to be writing in the ME fandom again soon! 
> 
> Lots of love,   
> AO

If there was one person in the world who disliked formality and ceremony more than Jane Shepard, it had to be her partner, Garrus Vakarian. It was common knowledge around the Citadel now that whenever asked to attend a formal function the two would search for any excuse not to go. It was easiest, and most people knew it now, to go through their assistants, who would harass them until they showed up, looking grumpy but neatly pressed. 

On this day, however, both the Commander and the Councillor were in attendance, looking pleased as punch. The Legion Stadium, a grand hall down in the Wards, was brimming with people, all of whom looked thrilled to be there. On the stadium floor was a set of empty seats, rows and rows of them. At the front of the floor seating were two rows of people in dress greys, the formal uniform of the Galactic Peacekeepers, as well as a selection of colourful dignitaries, including Garrus. 

There was a stage set up at the front of the stadium and on it was a podium, a set of chairs, and a table covered in shining silver pins and official looking documents. It was at the side of this stage that Shepard stood in her Peacekeeper uniform, covered in her regalia. If she had had her way her post wouldn't have come with regalia at all, but sometimes it was easiest just to cave to peer pressure. Arkik, all eight Directors, and the training officers were lined up behind her. 

Shepard shifted from foot to foot, feeling the excitement of the crowd and the ever present nerves of this day. Twenty five years she had been doing this and it never got less nerve-wracking. It always seemed like an interminable wait until the ceremony began, but soon enough the MC, as usual the Silence Director, got things going. Having Zoo MC had been a compromise reached early in the Director's tenure, since he wanted to attend the ceremony but couldn't officially be recognized on the stage. As it turned out, the Silent made a damn good MC. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats," Zoo said into the mic. And so it began. The ceremony was familiar by now, but always fun. The Directors and Shepard were introduced, this year with the addition of Arkik as Assistant Commander. Shepard hadn't let him back out of that title. They filed into stage and sat down, and then Zoo introduced the candidates. They marched into the hall amid great fanfare from their families and friends in the stands. The candidates, as usual, looked exhausted but exuberant, like they had accomplished the impossible and it hadn't quite sunk in yet. 

Too soon, Zoo was announcing Shepard to stand and give the Commander's Address. Shepard's speeches had varied over the years, of course, but she typically stuck to the same principles. This year, though, was a little different. She stood up, walking slowly so as to make her limp a little less noticeable, and made her way to the podium. 

"Thank you, Captain," she said. Officially Zoo was a captain in Strategy. Shepard turned to the crowd. Somewhere in the stands sat nearly every one of her old crew, save the few who couldn't make it and the ones who were no longer around. They had all come out in a show of support for the day's events. Out there as well were Hannah and Ben, along with hundreds of off duty Peacekeepers. 

"Welcome, friends," Shepard said, as she always did. "First of all, let us be clear. This is not a solemn occasion, so let's hear you!" The crowd cheered loudly and she grinned. "Please join me in welcoming our guests, the Honorable Representative of the Turian Hierarchy to the Citadel Council, Garrus Vakarian," a polite cheer and a raucous noise from their cheering section greeted that. Garrus gave a little nod that was broadcast up onto the big screen behind the stage. "As well as our visiting dignitaries, our Galactic Peacekeeping Force's Assistant Commander Arkik Loris, our Directors, and most importantly our newest candidates!" The cheer reached deafening levels. 

Shepard took a breath. "The Galactic Peacekeeping Force was established twenty five years ago after the end of the Reaper War in an effort to maintain the camaraderie that the races of the galaxy had during the war. Back then, we worked together to beat an impossible enemy, and more than a few of you in this room have suffered personal losses because of the war. As a soldier in that fight I know how devastating it was. But good did come out of it. The cooperation of the races during the darkest times in our history showed us that it could be done, and when the war was over it was our goal to keep that spirit of cooperation going. So we established the GP as a peacekeeping force to show that we are not an army for hire, we intend to work with the galaxy. Over the years our force has grown beyond my wildest imagination. Now we are home to seven departments and thousands of Peacekeepers engaged in activities all over the Galaxy. We have our Administration group, that oversees all operations and handles our ground teams-" the admin group cheered "- and we have our Construction group, who are responsible for much of the rebuilding efforts that have been accomplished since the war." The Constructors roared. "We have the Civilian Corps, who work with local governments and groups to help get communities back on their feet and self sufficient. Then there's Transport, who move us all around the Galaxy and support our supply lines. And We have Supply to make sure everyone has everything they need, all the time, as well as to support local groups in their own efforts. Then there's Strategy, our ground forces, responsible for safety and security and tactics on all missions. And lastly, Reconnaissance. Recon is responsible for all of our scouting and information gathering, as well as all first contact situations." The cheer for Recon was almost reverent. They were considered the elite of the GP, and most cadets joined because they wanted to be them. Of course, most of them would not be, but most of the ones who couldn't cut it in Recon quickly found that they would suit other positions. 

"The GP has become more than I ever dreamed it could be. It has become a force for change and for good in the galaxy. I believe that the GP changes lives for the better wherever they go and I am intensely proud of that. You, our newest candidates, are the future of this organization. You have chosen to follow our code and uphold the laws of the galaxy and to always do what is right, even if it is not the easiest thing to do. No matter what department you have been assigned to you can be assured that you are critical to our success and I am immensely grateful that every year, young people like yourselves are choosing to be a part of this. I hope to see the Peacekeepers continue helping people for centuries to come, and to continue the traditions we are building together.

"That being said, you have now completed your basic training. You know that what we do is not easy. Sometimes it is not pleasant. It isn't always helping people and feel-good stories. Sometimes it's defending people whose points of view you disagree with. Sometimes it's fighting and killing. Sometimes it's cleaning up after others fight and kill. You have all heard of or experienced the krogan rebellion on Rannoch and so you know that this job is not always happy. You have had a taste of the grit and determination it takes to be a Peacekeeper and as you continue in your specialized training in your new assignments you'll get another taste. This job will never be easy, but it will be satisfying. I can promise you that. So thank you for being with us and making us so much stronger than we were before you came. Remember our laws, remember your training, and keep the peace. Thank you." 

The crowd cheered and Shepard made her way back to her seat. After that, Zoo took over again and began the long process of introducing their speakers for the day. Many speeches were made and soon enough the candidates were squirming in the their seats. Shepard grinned. It was good to make them squirm before they finally got what they were waiting for. She believed it made it more worthwhile. Eventually, Zoo said, “And now, please join in me in congratulating our candidates as they process across the stage and are given their new assignments. Here at the GP we have a long standing tradition of working hard and celebrating harder, so do not hold your applause until the end!” The crowd cheered. This was a rowdy group, Shepard was pleased to note. It added to the festive atmosphere and she loved it. 

“We will begin with those candidates assigned to the Administration Division. Please join me in congratulating Arlene Adasi! Tirinius Arius! Josef Fernandes!” The list of names went on. They had over two hundred candidates this year who had passed basic and were continuing into GP regular, which was a new record for them. Shepard clapped for every candidate that came across the stage, and shook each of their hands. Their new Director pinned their Admin badge onto their uniforms and handed them their diploma of completion. Every candidate was bright eyed and beaming, and Shepard was reminded of herself when she first joined the Alliance. She made sure to smile at all of them, hoping they could see from her face how happy she was to have them. New recruits were the backbone of the GP, and they were her insurance that her organization meant something, that it would continue. 

Zoo made his painstaking way through the candidates, going through the new assignees for Civilian, Construction, Strategy, Transport, and Supply. Finally he got to Recon and started through the list. By this point the pool of candidates was very small. Recon only ever accepted a couple dozen candidates at maximum and usually less than that. This year, there were only about twenty people being added to Recon and half of those would be reassigned after advanced training showed they wouldn’t suit the department. 

Shepard shook hands with each candidate, as thrilled as they were to recieve their Recon assignment. She knew from reading the list beforehand that he would be the last one called, and she sort of revelled in it. From meeting him, she knew that Tharius would be frozen in his seat, terrified that he had been missed, that he wasn’t actually a new member of the GP at all. 

“And lastly, our newest assignee to the Reconaissance Department of the Galactic Peacekeepers, Tharius Vakarian!” Their cheering section went wild. Shepard could see Garrus in the front row, looking torn between standing and cheering for his son and trying to look dignified. He went for proud, standing and cheering. 

Tharius came walking across the stage, his mandibles flared as wide as possible. When he shook Shepard’s hand, he was shaking. 

“Good job, kid,” she whispered. He smiled at her. “Never doubted you for a second.” 

That made him chuckle, but he stood a little straighter. He moved over to the Director of Recon, who pinned on his badge and handed him his diploma. 

 

After The ceremonies were completed, Shepard, Tharius, and Garrus met up with the crew outside the stadium. The crew flocked Tharius, congratulating him and patting him. Ben and her team were there, with Zak heavily bandaged and being held up by Ben. She hadn’t left his side since he came out of Huertas, Shepard had noticed. Well good for her. Zak was a good kid. 

“So Vakarian,” Ben asked, grinning at the boy, “have they told you which team you’re training under?” Jane grinned. She knew well enough that they hadn’t. 

Tharius shook his head. 

“Well shit. Hate to be the one to break it to you, kid, but T-Shep here requested you special,” Zak said, his voice hoarse. 

Ben elbowed him. “T-Shep? That is not going to catch on.” 

“I dunno Ben, I kind of like it,” Shiiya said. Krul chuckled his deep krogan chuckle. None of them seemed to notice that Tharius was blinking, eyes wide and staring at them. 

Zak was the first to see it. “Uh-oh, I think we broke him,” he said. 

Garrus cleared his throat. “Uh, no, he just gets like this sometimes. Shock. Tharius!” He nudged his son with a toe. 

Tharius didn’t blink. 

Garrus looked uncomfortable. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. And he appreciates it, really. You four are his favorite team. He idolizes you.” 

That snapped the young turian to attention. “Dad!” 

“Oh this is going to be fun!” Ben said. “Come with us, kid, there’s a party back at HQ and we don’t miss parties.” They tucked Tharius between Krul and Shiiya and the five of them left. Ben winked at her mother as she went, and Shepard fired one back at her. 

“They’ll keep him safe, don’t worry,” she said to Garrus as he came up and wrapped his arm around her. He kissed her hair. 

“I know,” he said, “After all, that’s your daughter and my son out there. They’ll be just fine.” Shepard laughed. 

Fin


End file.
